T

he Indonesian government has decided it will not launch a military operation into areas of the Philippines where terror group Abu Sayyaf has held Indonesian and Malaysian sailors hostage for months.

The government made the decision despite the green light recently given to it by Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who has given permission for members of the Indonesian Military to pursue pirates and kidnappers in Philippine waters, especially in the Sulu region, known to be a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf group.

The frequent kidnapping of sailors by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Sulu waters pushed Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to launch coordinated patrols to protect their respective border areas as agreed to in a maritime pact signed by the three neighboring countries in Bali in August.

The pact allows each country to enter one another’s maritime territory, in a limited way, to hunt down terrorists and pirates in emergency situations. The agreement also highlights the importance of land operations to release hostages, a proposal the Philippines continues to object to because of possible legal complications.

Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu flew to Manila last week to meet with his counterpart, Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana, to follow up on the Bali pact.

Both Malaysia and Indonesia have agreed that they will not take any risks in launching operations into the Philippines.

Ryamizard said the Philippines had deployed 22,000 military personnel, the largest deployment in the country’s history, to confront the Abu Sayyaf group in a number of areas across the Philippines, including in the Sulu islands, an operation that could make an Indonesian and Malaysian intervention redundant.

“In the past, we couldn’t enter [Philippine waters], but now we can [after the Bali agreement]. President Duterte even says that if it is necessary, we can go onto the land. But, given recent developments, in which a total of 22,000 personnel have been deployed by the Philippines [...] it is unnecessary for us to do so [enter Philippine territory]. Malaysia also shares the same view,” Ryamizard said in Zamboanga, the Philippines, on Monday.

Meanwhile, the commander of the Western Mindanao Command, Maj. Gen. Mayoralgo de la Cruz, said President Duterte have ordered the Philippine military to increase its troop numbers to combat Abu Sayyaf in order to release the five remaining Indonesian hostages.

Cruz said Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia, through the joint coordinated patrol agreement, would increase security to curb piracy, kidnappings and any attempt to smuggle in weapons, people, or supplies to support terrorist groups in Indonesia, Malaysia or the Philippines.

“We will work together to address terrorism,” Cruz said.