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Govt considering bigger coal barges to help prevent piracy
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An image from Google shows the Lahad Batu area in Malaysia. Three Indonesians are believed to have been kidnapped by five armed men off Lahad Datu late on Saturday, according to local media reports. (The Star/Image taken from Google map)
T
he government is considering providing bigger barges for coal exports to the Philippines in order to prevent further incidents of piracy in the regional waters.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Luhut Pandjaitan said on Tuesday that the rather small size of Indonesian-flagged tugboats traveling across the border could be one reason why they often became victims of hijackings by militant groups.
“The vessels that we use to deliver coal are rather small and susceptible to being hijacked. If we used bigger barges it would be harder [for other groups to take them over],” Luhut told journalists.
He made the statement following a meeting with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in which they discussed options to secure the release of 10 Indonesian sailors who have been abducted on various occasions by what is suspected to be different factions of the Abu Sayyaf militant group.
The government is also investigating other reasons behind the Filipino militants’ interest in kidnapping Indonesian sailors, Luhut said, without commenting further on the question of ransoms paid in hostage cases being a possible reason for the continued abductions.
Earlier, Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said Indonesia might be too “persuasive” for the pirates, meaning that the militants knew the country’s vessels were not guarded by military personnel and thus the lack of security was a reason for the hijackings.
To step up security measures, the TNI has prepared personnel to guard every barge and tugboat traveling in the regional waters, with at least five TNI personnel on each vessel, Gatot said. (dmr)
