4 December 2003 – Condemning the recent killing by pirates of a Filipino seaman in the Straits of Malacca, Secretary Ople said that the key to preventing piracy in the region is by strengthening regional cooperation.

“We condemns the pirates who caused the death of Bato Mayjohn, 27, who was shot in the chest while on the M.N. Sea Panther which was heading to Bombay from Singapore when it was approached by four pirates in a fishing vessel some 30 nautical miles off the Indonesian Island of Sumatra last Monday,” Secretary Ople said.

The Secretary added that the key to addressing the issue of piracy is the strengthening of regional cooperation and the close partnership between the government and the shipping and manning sectors.

“We continue to build the structures and mechanisms that will bring together the full force of the resources that the governments of the region can devote to fighting piracy,” Secretary Ople said.

“In APEC, the Philippines is taking the lead on maritime security issues.  In the IMO, we have won our seat in the Council and the IMO has established its regional office in Manila,” the Secretary said.

“Maritime security is also a serious issue in ASEAN.  Individual ASEAN countries have also adopted measures that will foster cooperation in the fight against terrorism.  We will soon have a center in Southeast Asia that is dedicated to maritime security and fighting piracy,” he added.

The narrow Malacca Strait funnels 50,000 vessels a year between the biggest economies of the West and the East, and has been a hunting ground for pirates for centuries.

However, pirate attacks on seafarers worldwide hit a new high in the first nine months of this year and Indonesia accounted for 25 per cent of the total, according to the International Maritime Bureau.

The number of crew killed increased to 20 as compared to six in 2002 and the number of attacks using guns rose to 77 from 49, the London-based IMB said in a report by its Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lumpur.  END.