If one commits piracy that gives any nation the right to blow them to high heavens

The Commander-in-Chief President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered the Philippine Navy (PN) to blow up pirates to high heavens to stop them from terrorizing the high seas in the southern Philippines and bordering areas.

In a speech during the 156th birth anniversary of Gat. Andres Bonifacio held at the Andres Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City on Saturday, the President stressed the need to stop the problem of piracy in the south.

According to the President, if one commits piracy, that gives any nation the right to “blow them to high heavens.”

Mr. Duterte particularly cited the areas of the Celebes Sea and Sulu Sea, which are beset with piracy.

“If you commit piracy… then that gives any nation the right to blow you to the high heavens. We are beset with piracy in the Celebes, Sulu Sea and the Indonesian waters,” the President said.

“And my orders to the Navy — I repeat, my orders to the Navy — is that if they are positive that they are pirates, you blow them to kingdom come. You kill them all, so that my problem will be finished,” he added.

The President also said he just talked with Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad for them to form a task force to combat piracy at the borders.

“I just had a talk with President Widodo and Mahathir. And I said it’s high time that we form a task force, not really intruding into the waters of other countries, but just patrol your areas incessantly and accurately. And I will do my share in the Sulu Sea,” he said.

The Sulu-Celebes Sea area has become a huge concern for shipowners worldwide and was previously described by Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Panjaitan as the “new Somalia.”

The tri-border area between the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, which includes the Sulu-Celebes Sea region that covers 900,000 square kilometers, hosts approximately $40 billion worth of cargo annually.

Another risky area is Sibutu Passage, a 29-kilometer marine channel separating Borneo from the Sulu archipelago. It has been estimated that during the 1980s, around 100 pirate attacks took place in the Sulu Sea each year.

Despite efforts by Malaysian and Philippine authorities to curb piracy in the Sulu Sea, the problem continues to persist. Weak maritime law enforcement, corruption, rivalries between the involved states and unresolved territorial claims are major barriers to an effective suppression of piracy.

The littoral nature of the Sulu Sea also makes it easy for pirates to surprise victims and evade law enforcement.

On land, the poor economic conditions in the area drive people to resort to various forms of crimes to make a living, including piracy.

In turn, it exacerbates the economic deprivation of the population, as the primary targets are the locals themselves.

The vastness of the area that needs to be safeguarded and the transnational impact of these maritime crimes propelled the governments of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia to sign the Trilateral Cooperative Arrangement (TCA) on 14 July 2016.

In 12 October 2017, the countries intensified maritime security cooperation in the tri-border area with the launch of the trilateral air and maritime patrols as vital components of the TCA.

Maritime coordinating centers were established in Tarakan, Indonesia, Tawau, Malaysia, and Bongao, Philippines that would serve as operational command and monitoring stations.

The joint air patrol is the second component of the TCA to secure the maritime areas of common concern among the countries.