NAVAL forces foiled an attempt by Abu Sayyaf to intercept a Panamanian-flagged vessel that was transiting waters off Tawi-Tawi province, Naval Forces Western Mindanao reported Friday.
NFWM commander Rear Admiral Rene Medina said m/v Dong Hae Star was cruising the Sulu Sea enroute from China to Indonesia around 10 a.m. Thursday when suspicious black-colored speedboats with armed men started pursuing the merchant vessel off Pearl Bank.
The Dong Hae Star then transmitted a distress call to Littoral Monitoring Station in Bongao, Sulu prompting security forces to dispatch vessels to aid the merchant vessel.
The dispatched naval vessels arrived at the area on time and scared the pirates, who scampered to the open sea.
“According to the MV, the suspicious speedboats desist from chasing them and immediately maneuvered to open sea upon sighting responding navy patrolling ships,” Medina said.
The incident prompted Medina to deploy additional vessels to the Joint Task Forces Tawi-Tawi and Sulu for interdiction and support law enforcement operations in the area.
After the foiled attack, m/v Dong Star proceeded its destination while LMS Bongao continued to monitor their progress.
The interception try at the commercial vessel came a week after suspected ASG bandits forcibly snatched six of 17 Vietnamese sailors from m/v Giang Hai 05 while cruising 17 miles off Pearl Bank in Tawi-Tawi.
Shortly after the abduction, the bandits, upon seeing responding navy vessels, speed-off leaving a sailor dead while 10 others were rescued.
“The AFP condemns the abduction perpetrated by these criminal groups who continuously compromise the peace and order in Western Mindanao,” Medina lamented.
Despite the all-out offensives by the military to neutralize and decimate the Abu Sayyaf, kidnapping incidents continue to persist.
Meanwhile, elements of the JTF-Sulu recovered a high-powered firearm and various war materiel during continuing operations in the outskirts of Indanan town.
Maj. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. commander of Western Mindanao Command, said that the recovery clearly showed that the Abu Sayyaf terrorists are now trying to evade pursuing troops by hiding their guns.
