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Diplomatic efforts to release Indonesian sailors go on indefinitely
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Stay confident -- Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Jakarta. She said on Monday that the government was striving to secure the release of seven Indonesian sailors adducted in the southern Philippines. (Tempo/-)
T
he Indonesian government is in ongoing talks with the Philippine government in an effort to secure the release of seven Indonesian sailors taken hostage but is unable to provide a timeframe.
The Foreign Ministry’s Indonesian citizen protection director, Lalu Muhammad Iqbal, explained on Monday that, as the Philippines had just held presidential elections, they were still in a process of internal consolidation, and communication between the two governments had been focused on ensuring the safety of future expeditions in Philippine waters.
“The safety of the sailors is the most important thing now; we can no longer tolerate such incidents, but no timeframe has been set” he told The Jakarta Post.
The abduction of the seven sailors — manning tugboat Charles 001 from Makassar — is the latest of three separate incidents involving a total of 21 Indonesian crewmen by the militant group in the last three months.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi met with her Philiphine counterpart Perfecto Rivas Yasay Jr. to seek safety guarantees for Sulu waters. Yasay reportedly responded that the newly elected president was strongly committed to eliminating crime in the area and ensured that his government would maintain coordination with Indonesia.
Iqbal said the government had also demanded that PT Perusahaan Pelayaran Rusdianto Bersaudara, the operator of the tugboat, stay in contact with the sailors’ families.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s spokesperson, Arrmanatha Nasir, said no update could be shared with the public, but underlined that the government had identified the abduction site and made sure the seven sailors were in a good condition.
