Joint patrols seen to boost business confidence in ARMM
A Philippine Navy Multi-Purpose Assault Craft on patrol. File photo
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Joint patrols by the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia are seen to boost business confidence in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a regional investment official said.
Ishak Mastura, ARMM Regional Board of Investment (RBOI) chairman, said the trilateral patrols are a significant development in the Muslim region, especially for the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
He said the component island provinces of ARMM have always been engaged in cross-border trading, traditionally called the barter trade.
However, the presence of the Abu Sayyaf group and its affiliated kidnap-for-ransom groups have brought security issues to sea trade.
ARMM Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman said the trilateral maritime patrols would ensure security for traders in the ARMM doing business in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Hataman said it has been his region’s desire to secure the border and protect its traders. He added the area is also the fishing ground of commercial fishery operators, specifically those in tuna and sardine operations.
The sea route in the Sulu Sea is also used by Indonesian suppliers of coal for power plants in Mindanao and in the transshipment of major goods between Sabah in Malaysia and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
A security official meanwhile said that shipping through the area constitutes more than $5 trillion dollars a year in commercial revenue.
“So, it needs to be secured,” said Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief, said in a recent press briefing.
He said additional naval assets have been deployed to help the secure the border even prior to the establishment of the Trilaterl Maritime Patrol.
The defense departments of the three nations have agreed to beef up security measures in the roughly one-million-square-kilometer tri-border area in the Sulu-Sulawesi Seas.
Part of the measure is allowing the navies of the three countries to cross borders when in hot pursuit of criminals.
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