Piracy Report Philippines

[Delancey]

Why split hairs? How about Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen? Are those good reasons? When terrorism or other crimes occur in nation states who the US doesn't think are doing enough about it the US uses it's military to conduct either open or covert warfare to change their minds. You know, dropping bombs and shooting people.

While the recently elected president of the Philippines has said he was going to kick out the US and let China in, the US has been spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year for a dozen years sending special forces and military equipment to the Philippines to help their government fight Islamic terrorists in the south.

Are they Islamic terrorists fighting for a cause? Or are they just lazy people who would rather commit crimes like kidnapping and extorting ransom rather than working as farmers to provide their own livelihood? My friend who is a Filipino member of the US special forces seems to think so. Regardless, they are definitely not pirates.

Piracy occurs on the high seas, the two thirds of the planet's surface that are not under the juristdiction of any government. This is the lawless part of the planet. Why split hairs? Because when people commit crimes within nation states you can do something about it on a governmental level and get results even if it means conducting warfare against them.

When people commit piracy what are you going to do about it? Bomb the ocean? Not much you can do about it except try to hunt them down and kill them. If you've ever crossed an ocean you would know the high seas are a pretty big place to try and find someone. People have a hard enough time finding people in distress on the high seas who want desperately to be found. Can't imagine trying to find faceless unidentified criminals who don't want to be found.

Why split hairs? Maybe you folks aren't that interested in the facts after all.

[GordMay]

Piracy in Asian waters has increased this year, according to regional piracy monitoring center ReCAAP*.

75 attacks were reported in the first three quarters of the year, an increase of nearly 40 percent relative to last year, and a higher number than at any point since 2015.
Almost all of the attacks were armed robberies, but four were more serious acts of piracy.
In particular, kidnapping remains a significant concern in the waters off Eastern Sabah, Malaysia, at the intersection of the Sulu and Celebes Seas.
This pattern is associated with the Abu Sayyaf terrorist group, which is based on the remote islands of the Philippines' Sulu Province.
ReCAAP recommends that vessels should follow its detailed recommendations on transiting the Sulu-Celebes Seas and stay in contact with the Eastern Sabah Security Command while in the region.
Boardings and robberies have also risen markedly at anchorages in Manila and Batangas.
In the Philippines, 13 incidents were reported during the first three quarters of the year - not quite as many as seen during 2017, but a marked increase relative to the past two years. Three incidents of the incidents at Batangas involved some form of assault against the crew, a new and concerning the development.
The Philippine Coast Guard has increased the frequency of its patrols and boardings in response.

*The Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) ➥ https://www.recaap.org/

[SoggyPaws]

Not to deny that the poor are getting poorer and more desperate, in the Philippines and elsewhere in SE Asia...

However, as an active cruiser who has been in and around the Philippines since 2014, and as someone who tries really hard to monitor news sources and cruising reports that cover the Philippines, I have not heard of any problems this year that CRUISERS have experienced. I am on all the Facebook groups that cover the Philippines.

We have cruising friends who are CURRENTLY in Subic, Palawan, Puerto Galera, Bonbonon, and Cebu, plus a few hardy souls actually moving around in the Philippines during the COVID lockdowns. No one has reported any increase in thefts, boardings, and certainly no kidnappings.

President Duterte has committed to trying to normalize the strained relationships in the Sulu peninsula area, and has offered amnesty to the young men who joined the Abu Sayyaf only because it was the only job in town. He is working on infrastructure issues like roads, electricity, schools, and internet for those areas. In addition, he has made sure his Army commanders operating in the Jolo peninsula area are aggressively going after the "rebels". (Past Army generals were said to be on the payroll of the Abu Sayyaf).

More people from Abu Sayyaf (and related groups) who have committed atrocities in the past 20 years have been brought to justice (either killed in skirmishes by army forces or arrested) in the last few years than ever before.

A lot of the RECAAP stuff is counting boardings on big ships, people looking for easy pickings... climbing up the anchor chain and stealing what they can get their hands on--not true "Piracy" like people getting kidnapped and held for ransom.

Just my 2 cents. We did a full cruise through the Philippines in 2018 and had NO ISSUES whatsoever. But we did pay attention to security when at anchor, and we avoided the Jolo Peninsula. (if you want to see where we went, see our Cruising the Magnificent Philippines PDF presentation on S/V Soggy Paws - Presentations )

We have been based out of a marina near Davao, Mindanao since 2014. We regularly travel on local transport. A few people have been pickpocketed in a cramped Jeepney, but nothing worse than that.

Sherry
s/v Soggy Paws

[kmason]

I have to agree with Sherry on S/V Soggy Paws. I'm kind of new to cruising around the Philippines. I've only had my boat here since 2017 but I find this place safer than the Caribbean. For the most part, Filipinos are overly friendly, curious and will return the respect given 10 fold. Fishermen like to approach very close if you are underway and try to sell you the days catch if you are on anchor. I single hand a lot and I don't feel threatened or in peril when traveling between islands.

With that said, I've had 2 incidences. The first was at an island off of Samar where I left a hatch unlocked while I went to shore. Some opportunistic individuals swam out to my boat and stole some petty cash and a watch. Lesson learned. I make sure I secure my boat when I'm ashore. Simple precautions would have made it a missed opportunity if I would have locked up properly.

The second incident was a non powered banka boat with 2 drunk youths trying to board at about 4 AM. They were clumsy and never stepped foot on my boat. I went on deck with my very bright flashlight and they rowed for shore as fast as they could. This was on anchor just south of Santa Fe in Bantayan. They probably thought the boat was unoccupied and were startled when I came on deck. I got some banka boat paint on my gel coat but that rubbed out with a scotch brite pad. No real harm done but if I wasn't so sleepy I would have taken a picture and informed the local barangay.

In shirt, the good far outweigh the bad here in the Philippines. I plan on exploring more when this lockdown is over and inter-island travel is allowed again. It's just too nice here and so many anchorages to see.

[kmason]

That should read, "In short, the good far outweigh the bad..."