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egional cooperation is vital to overcome cross-border problems of piracy, illegal fishing and forced labor in regional waters, a maritime security expert says.

Ionnis Chapsos, a former captain of the Greek Navy, added that governments needed to find specific solutions to issues affecting the Sulu Sea region.

The research fellow in maritime security of Coventry University in the United Kingdom cited piracy in the Sulu Sea as one of the main problems. “Piracy in Southeast Asia is different from piracy in Somalia, and I do not think what has been done in Somalia can be applied here,” he said during a seminar on maritime security at the London School of Public Relations (LSPR) in Jakarta.

Among other measures, private security firms have been credited with reducing attacks and hostage-taking by Somali pirates.

“Local distinctiveness has to be taken into account, and the only way to address piracy is through active regional cooperation that could come up with effective ways to solve the problem,” he said.

On Monday, Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that three more Indonesian citizens had been taken hostage in waters of Sabah state, Malaysia, by Philippine-based militants last Thursday.

Earlier reports said eight Filipino fishermen had been killed and five others were missing after at least five suspected pirates boarded a fishing boat in southern Philippine waters.

Last August, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines agreed on coordinated joint maritime patrols to secure regional waters.

Chapsos added that Indonesia’s biggest problem was currently illegal fishing, “because it affects coastal communities, the Indonesian economy and also involves human trafficking.”

Last May, Indonesia became party to the Port State Measures Agreement, under which foreign fishing vessels may enter designated ports that enforce requirements for stringent supervision.

“We have found from our [recent] research that 1,500 people have been trafficked from Myanmar, Thailand and many countries around the region. They have been recruited by agents that offered them secure jobs, but they ended up doing forced labor on fishing vessels,” Chapsos said.

In late 2015, ASEAN issued the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, its first regional, legally binding instrument to boost cooperation on human trafficking among member states.

Chapsos added the digital era could attract more threats in maritime security that the future generation needed to be aware of.

“I am involved in a European Commission project where partners [...] suggest that we build a ship that is 90 percent controlled by the internet, in terms of loading of items and locating the position of [the ship], among other functions.

“Despite increasing opportunities and reducing costs, this also increases vulnerability. [...]”

On Monday LSPR Jakarta and Coventry University announced their agreement on a new postgraduate course, maritime communication, to help raise awareness on maritime security.

LSPR Jakarta founder and director Prita Kemal Gani said Coventry University has years of experience in this field.
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The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post.