Anti-piracy Effort: Southeast Asian nations to begin joint sea patrol

The Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia will launch joint patrols in piracy-plagued waters, Manila's defence secretary said yesterday, after a wave of attacks that saw Islamic militants kidnapping and murdering foreigners.

The Abu Sayyaf, a kidnap-for-ransom network that has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, has been kidnapping sailors on fishing vessels and cargo barges including an elderly German whom it beheaded last month after ransom demands were not met.

Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he and his counterparts from Malaysia and Indonesia had agreed to patrol a sea lane where commercial vessels could pass with protection from the three nations' navies.

"We are inaugurating some time in April or May a joint patrol of the three nations in that area," Lorenzana said in a news conference.

The waters between the three nations have become increasingly dangerous in recent years, with maritime officials warning of a "Somalia-type" situation if the attacks are not addressed.