Crackdown on south-east Asia terrorists forces criminals out to sea

Politics may be a stumbling block to recent concerted regional efforts to tackle this issue, reports Wei Zhe Tan

The Sulu-Celebes Sea region has become a hotbed for crew abductions in the past year. The Singapore-based Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships in Asia Information Sharing Centre noted in a report that there were 16 incidents classified as abduction of crew in 2016. Of that figure, 10 were successful and six were failed attempts.