Piracy in the Sulu and Celebes Seas
While piracy has long been identified as an ubiquitous challenge, being historically interwoven with the region,[3] recent incidents also include other types of maritime crimes such as kidnapping and the trafficking of humans, arms and drugs.
Attacks mostly classify as 'armed robbery against ships' according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as they occur in maritime zones that lie under the sovereignty of a coastal state.
The Sulu raiders were mostly composed of the Ilanun (or Iranun) and the Sama group of sea nomads as well as the influential Tausug aristocrates from Jolo Island.
Because of the continual wars between Spain and the Moro people, the areas in and around the Sulu Sea saw re-occurring incidents of piracy attacks, which were not suppressed until the beginning of the 20th century.
[11] The re-curring act is often described as a reaction against the Spaniards, who had displaced the Moros from the political and economic dominance they once enjoyed in the region (e.g. strategic commercial standpoints in Mindanano).
The expedition to Balanguingui in 1848 was commanded by Brigadier José Ruiz with a fleet of nineteen small warships and hundreds of Spanish Army troops.
Other than muskets and rifles, the Moro pirates, as well as the navy sailors and the privateers, used a sword called the kris with a wavy blade incised with blood channels.
10 Piracy reemerged in the immediate post-WWII period as a result of the deterioration of the security situation and the wide availability of military surplus engines and modern firearms[7]: 37 .
Police authorities of the newly independent Philippines were unable to get hold of the traffic of arms and goods (copra and cigarettes) by rebel groups, which was fueled by the motorisation of inter-island support [7]: 37 .
During this period, pirates primarily targeted barter traders engaged in the copra trade, but also attacked fishing and passenger vessels and conducted coastal raids on villages.
Philippine authorities at the time, reported more than 431 deaths and 426 missing people in the course of twelve years, resulting in an intense high threat- level for the region [7]: 43 .
Similarly, Abu Sayyaf, founded in the early 1990s, started to engage in piracy attacks, both to fund the organization and for personal financial gain[17]: 155 .
Throughout the turn of the millennium, the threat of piracy remained high, with re-occurring attacks on small vessels and raids of towns and businesses on coastal villages in Sabah, mostly attributable to groups of the southern Philippines, as the main types of piratical activities[17]: 153 .
At the time, specifically the 2000 Sipadan kidnappings received a lot of international media attention, resulting in an increased engagement of anti-piracy measures by the Malaysian government[17]: 155 .
Subsequently, the Malaysian government increased their law enforcement agencies and established naval bases in the following years that can be found today in Semporna, Sandakan, Lahad Datu and Tawau[17]: 155 .
These efforts (combined with e.g. the signing of ReCAAP and an increase in the number of law enforcement personnel showed some success and lead to a decrease in incidents.
[18] However, in the years of 2009-2014 an upswing in the number of attacks can be attributed to Southeast Asia again, mainly due to incidents in the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea, but also raids on towns, settlements and offshore businesses re-emerged as a security threat in the Sulu and Celebes area after 2010[17]: 155 .
[21] Responses by affected nation states in the region tap into the following three different categories: maritime operations, information sharing and capacity building[18]: 83-85 .
While the nation states have been historically reluctant to collectively act, upholding traditional ASEAN-principles of non- interference and sovereignty, the developments and outside pressure demanded action.
[23] Since 2016, the nature of piracy in that porous area changed with the militant extremist group Abu Sayyaf re- entering the field and engaging in kidnapping- for ransom- activities.
[27] Contemporary attacks in the Sulu and Celebes Seas amount primarily to kidnapping for ransom (while incidents in other parts of Southeast Asia mostly constitute non- violent robberies).
[22] All attacks have been committed while the ships were underway and tug and fishing boats were the main victims of abduction of crew (due to their slow speed and low freeboard)[28]: 12–14 .
Against the background of the kidnapping- for-ransom attacks in their territorial waters, the littoral states signed a Trilateral Cooperative Agreement (TCA) in July 2016 addressing the security challenge in the tri-border-area.
Furthermore, drawing on combating piracy efforts in Somalia, Malaysia and the Philippines established special transit corridors ensuring a safe passage for commercial ships.
[17]: 155 Weak maritime law enforcement, corruption, rivalries between the involved states, and unresolved territorial claims are major barriers to an effective suppression of piracy.
On land, the poor economic conditions in the area drive people to resort to various forms of crime to make a living, including piracy.
