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Crisis center set up in response to kidnap of Indonesian sailors
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Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan speaks to journalists in Jakarta. (thejakartapost.com/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he government is set to activate a crisis center to step up efforts to secure the release of seven Indonesian sailors taken hostage this week by two Philippines militant groups in the Sulu Sea, a senior minister said on Friday.
The crisis center is aimed at identifying who is behind the string of kidnapping cases in the region, reportedly two different Filipino groups. The crisis center will also track down the location of the sailors taken hostage by the group, Coordinating Minister for Politics, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said.
Further, the center is also tasked with discovering any links between the latest kidnapping and the previous incidents.
"It will find out details to form an opinion on what actions we can take," Luhut said on Friday.
Luhut will lead the crisis center, which comprises other top officials such as Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, and the National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti.
The officials are scheduled to hold an internal meeting on Tuesday, where they will talk about the matters before taking any measure to secure the release of the sailors, Luhut added. The kidnapping of seven Indonesian sailors is the third incident this year, which has prompted the government to form joint patrols with Malaysia and the Philippines for the security of regional waters. (rin)
