Piracy in the Sulu and Celebes Seas

The Sulu and Celebes Seas, which together form a semi-enclosed sea area and porous region with an area of about 1 million square kilometers,^[1] have been subject to illegal maritime activities since the pre-colonial era^[2] and continue to pose a maritime security threat to bordering nations up to this day. While piracy has long been identified as an ubiquitous challenge, being historically interwoven with the region,^[3] recent incidents also include other types of maritime crimes such as kidnapping and the trafficking of humans, arms and drugs. Attacks are mostly classified as 'armed robbery against ships' according to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, as they occur in maritime zones that lie under the sovereignty of a coastal state.^[4] Incidents in the Sulu and Celebes Seas specifically involve the abduction of crew members. Since March 2016, the Information Sharing Centre (ISC) of the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) reports a total of 86 abductions,^[5] leading to the issue of a warning for ships crossing the area.^[6]

History of piracy in the region

Piracy in the Sulu and Celebes Seas has a long history of attacks and raids, with the region influenced primarily by raiders from the Sulu Sea who originated in southern Philippines. The Sulu raiders were mostly composed of the Ilanun (or Iranun) and the Sama group of sea nomads as well as the influential Tausug aristocrats from Jolo Island.^[7] Historically piracy occurred near the island of Mindanao, where frequent acts of piracy were committed against the Spanish. These attacks of the local population are often known as the Spanish-Moro conflict. The term "Moro" thereby originated in the Spanish description as they introduced the derogatory term for Muslims and portrayed them in negative terms primarily due to their opposition to Spanish colonial rule and Christianity.^[8] However, the term is being reclaimed by ethnic Filipinos today ^{[according to whom?]} and constitutes a reclaiming of Muslim identity; consequently, the term is applied in this historical context.

Because of the continual wars between Spain and the Moro people, the areas in and around the Sulu Sea experienced recurring pirate attacks, which were not suppressed until the beginning of the 20th century. The pirates of that period should not be confused with the naval forces or privateers of the various Moro tribes. However, many of the pirates operated with government sanction during wartime.^[9]^[10]^{: 383–397}

The Moro Pirates and Spanish colonial occupation

Moro piracy is often linked to the Spanish colonial occupation of the Philippines. Over the course of two and a half centuries, Moro piratical attacks on Christian communities caused "an epoch of wholesale misery for the inhabitants".^[11] After the Spanish arrival in 1521, Moro piratical raids against Christian settlements started in June 1578. These spread all over the archipelago and were conducted with impunity by organized fleets equipped with armaments nearly equal to those of the Spanish.^[11] The recurring act is often described as a reaction against the Spaniards, who had displaced the Moros from the political and economic dominance they once enjoyed in the region (e.g., strategic commercial standpoints in Mindanao).^[11] Moreover, religious differences between Muslims and Christians are frequently cited. ^{[by whom?]}

During the 1840s, the Spanish frequently engaged Moro pirates. The expedition to Balanguingui in 1848 was commanded by Brigadier José Ruiz with a fleet of nineteen small warships and hundreds of Spanish Army troops. They were opposed by at least 1,000 Moros holed up in four forts with 124 cannons and plenty of small arms. There were also dozens of proas at Balanguingui, but the pirates abandoned their ships for the better defended fortifications. The Spanish stormed three of the positions by force and captured the remaining one after the pirates had retreated. Over 500 prisoners were freed in the operation, and over 500 Moros were killed or wounded, and about 150 proas were lost. The Spanish lost twenty-two men killed and around 210 wounded. The pirates later reoccupied the island in 1849. Another expedition was sent, which encountered only light resistance.^{[citation needed]}

It is estimated that from 1770 to 1870, around 200,000 to 300,000 people were enslaved by Iranun and Banguingui slavers. These were taken by piracy from passing ships as well as coastal raids on settlements as far as the Malacca Strait, Java, the southern coast of China, and the islands beyond the Makassar Strait. Most of the slaves were Tagalogs, Visayans, and "Malays" (including Bugis, Mandarese, Iban, and Makassar). There were also occasional European and Chinese captives who were usually ransomed off through Tausug intermediaries of the Sulu Sultanate.^[12] David P. Forsythe put the estimate much higher, at around 2 million enslaved people captured within the first two centuries of Spanish rule of the Philippines after 1565.^[13]

In the 1840s, James Brooke became the White Rajah of Sarawak and led a series of campaigns against the Moro pirates. In 1843, Brooke attacked the pirates of Malludu; in June 1847, he participated in a major battle with pirates at Balanini, where dozens of proas were captured or sunk. Brooke also fought in several more anti-piracy actions in 1849. During one engagement off Mukah with Illanun Sulus in 1862, his nephew, ex-army Captain Brooke, sank four proas, out of six engaged, by ramming them with his small four-gun steamship Rainbow. Each pirate ship had over 100 crew members and enslaved people aboard the galley, and was armed with three brass swivel guns. Brooke lost only a few men, while at least 100 pirates were killed or wounded. Several prisoners were also released.^[14]^[15]

Despite Spanish efforts to eradicate the pirate threat, piracy persisted until the early 1900s. Spain ceded the Philippines to the United States as a result of the Spanish–American War in 1898, after which American troops embarked on a pacification campaign from 1903 to 1913 that extended American rule to the southern Philippines and effectively suppressed piracy.^[7]^: 12

Ships

The pirate ships used by the Moros include various designs like the paraw, pangayaw, garay, and lanong. The majority were wooden sailing galleys (lanong) about 90 feet long with a beam of 20 feet (27.4 by 6.1 m). They carried around fifty to 100 crew members. Moros usually armed their vessels with three swivel guns, called lelahs or lantakas, and occasionally a heavy cannon. Proas were fast, allowing the pirates to prey on merchant ships that had been becalmed in shallow water while passing through the Sulu Sea. Slave trading and raiding were also very common; the pirates would assemble large fleets of proas and attack coastal towns. Hundreds of Christians were captured and imprisoned over the centuries; many were used as galley slaves aboard the pirate ships.^[16]^[14]^{[unreliable source?]}

Weapons

In addition to muskets and rifles, the Moro pirates, navy sailors, and privateers, all used a sword called the kalis with a wavy blade incised with blood channels (fullers). The wooden or ivory handle was often heavily ornamented with silver or gold. The type of wound inflicted by its blade makes it difficult to heal.^{[citation needed]} The kalis was often used in boarding a vessel. Moros also used kampilans, another type of sword; a knife, or barong; and a budjak (spear) made of rattan and an iron spearhead. The Moros' swivel guns (lantaka) were unlike the more modern guns used by the world powers and were of much older technology, making them largely inaccurate, especially at sea. Lantaka dated back to the 16th century and were up to six feet long, requiring several men to lift one. They fired up to a half-pound cannonball or grape shot. A lantaka was bored by hand, sunk into a pit, and packed with dirt to keep it vertical. The barrel was then bored by a company of men walking around in a circle to turn drill bits by hand.^[9]^{: Ch. 10}

Piracy after World War II

Piracy reemerged in the immediate post-WWII period due to deteriorating security conditions and the widespread availability of military-surplus engines and modern firearms.^[7]^: 37 Police authorities of the newly independent Philippines were unable to curb the traffic in arms and goods (copra and cigarettes) by rebel groups, which was fueled by the motorization of inter-island support.^[7]^: 37 Emerging pirate groups mostly originated in the South of the country and were drawn from Muslim ethnic groups. In the northern parts of Borneo, the Tawi-Tawi pirates were of particular concern to the late British colonial authorities, who were said to be descendants of 19th-century Samal pirates.^[7]^: 37-38 The authorities in North Borneo recorded 232 pirate attacks between 1959 and 1962.^[7]^: 38 During this period, pirates primarily targeted barter traders engaged in the copra trade, but also attacked fishing and passenger vessels and conducted coastal raids on villages. As an example, in 1985, pirates caused chaos in the town of Lahad Datu in Sabah, killing 21 people and injuring 11 others.^[17]^[18] Specifically, the proliferation of arms, which increased with armed insurgencies in the following years, contributed to the level of violence and threat posed by pirates in the region.^[7]^: 42 Philippine authorities at the time reported more than 431 deaths and 426 missing people in the course of twelve years, resulting in an extremely high threat level for the region.^[7]^: 43 Victims (local seafarers and Sea Nomads) were often ordered to jump into the water (practice of ambak pare, meaning "Jump, buddy!"), which explains the large number of people missing.^[7]^: 43 The armed insurgencies of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), founded in 1972, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), founded in 1977, provided a new impetus to piracy, with both organizations engaging in piracy to fund their armed struggle.^[19]^: 154 MNLF has engaged in the extortion of fishermen, threatening to attack them if they did not pay protection money.^[7]^: 111 Similarly, Abu Sayyaf, founded in the early 1990s, began engaging in piracy attacks, both to fund the organization and for personal financial gain.^[19]^: 155

Contemporary piracy

2000–2014

Throughout the turn of the millennium, the threat of piracy remained high, with recurring attacks on small vessels and raids on towns and businesses in coastal villages in Sabah, mostly attributable to groups of the southern Philippines, as the main types of piratical activities.^[19]^: 153 At the time, specifically the 2000 Sipadan kidnappings received a lot of international media attention, resulting in an increased engagement of anti-piracy measures by the Malaysian government.^[19]^: 155 Subsequently, the Malaysian government increased their law enforcement agencies and established naval bases in the following years that can be found today in Semporna, Sandakan, Lahad Datu, and Tawau.^[19]^: 155 These efforts (combined with e.g., the signing of ReCAAP and an increase in the number of law enforcement personnel showed some success and led to a decrease in incidents. Soon, on a global scale, piracy in Southeast Asian waters was outnumbered by Somali piracy.^[20]

However, in the years 2009-2014, an upswing in the number of attacks can be attributed to Southeast Asia again, mainly due to incidents in the Strait of Malacca and South China Sea, but also raids on towns, settlements, and offshore businesses reemerged as a security threat in the Sulu and Celebes area after 2010.^[19]^: 155 In 2014, then, the Philippine government signed a peace deal with the MILF, which includes details about disarmament of the fighters. Yet, violence continues due to other reasons, such as attacks by other violent groups, such as Abu Sayyaf or dissatisfied MILF members.^[19]^: 156 Regarding the nature of piracy in the Sulu Sea, attacks are mostly perpetrated by small teams of less than ten people,^[21]^: 276 which are usually well-armed. Overall, incidents tend to be more violent than their counterparts in other areas of the world,^[19]^: 154 often killing their victims by shooting them or having them jump overboard, leaving them to drown.^[7]^: 42 Weapons used by pirates include normal handguns and rifles such as AK47, M16, M1 Garand, and FN FAL^[22] Pirates almost exclusively target small vessels, including fishing vessels, passenger ships and transport vessels.^[19]^: 151 While the pirates primarily aim to steal personal belongings, cargo, and fishers' catch, they also take hostages for ransom.^[19]^: 152 Especially in recent years, there has been a rise in such incidents. Moreover, pirates sometimes take the vessel's outboard motors or the vessel itself, either to sell later or to keep for themselves.^[23]

Responses by affected nation-states in the region fall into three categories: maritime operations, information sharing, and capacity building.^[20]^: 83-85 While the nation states have been historically reluctant to act collectively, upholding traditional ASEAN-principles of non-interference and sovereignty, the developments and outside pressure demanded action. Information sharing increased with the adoption of RECAAP in September 2006, and although Malaysia and Indonesia are not contracting parties, they still report incidents and share information.^[20]

2014–2021

Marked by a long history of piracy, Southeast Asia as a whole saw a sharp decline in piracy and armed robbery at sea in the years 2014–2018, with the number of incidents falling from 200 a year to 99 in 2017.^[24] However, this development is mainly due to increased efforts and enforcement mechanisms in the Straits of Malacca and cannot be transferred to the Sulu and Celebes region.^[25] Since 2016, the nature of piracy in that porous area changed with the militant extremist group Abu Sayyaf re-entering the field and engaging in kidnapping- for ransom- activities.^[26] The years 2016 and 2017 marked a peak, with 22 incidents and 58 abducted crew members reported throughout the first year.^[27] In the beginning, mostly fishing trawlers and tug boats were targeted. After October 2016, larger-tonnage ships were also targeted in the center of the attacks.^[27]^: 1 Until June 2019, ReCAAP reports 29 incidents of the abduction of crew members, documenting 10 people dead.^[28] In 2020, one incident (involving an attack on a fishing trawler on Jan 17 in Eastern Sabah) occurred, and no other incidents have been reported up to August 2021.^[29] Nonetheless, ReCAAP continues to warn of the risk of crew abduction and urges for a re-routing from the area of the Sulu and Celebes Seas.^[29]

Nature of piracy

Contemporary attacks in the Sulu and Celebes Seas amount primarily to kidnapping for ransom (while incidents in other parts of Southeast Asia mostly constitute non- violent robberies).^[24] All attacks have been committed while the ships were underway; tug and fishing boats were the main victims of abduction of crew (due to their slow speed and low freeboard).^[30]^: 12–14 As the assaults are often traced back to members of Abu Sayyaf, the ransom money is most likely supporting the extremist organization. International attention arose due to the alarming cruelty of hostages being abducted and detained.^[24]^: 33

State responses

Recent responses by the littoral states Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines focus, first and foremost, on improving and expanding regional cooperation. Against the background of the kidnapping- for-ransom attacks in their territorial waters, the littoral states signed a Trilateral Cooperative Agreement (TCA) in July 2016 addressing the security challenge in the tri-border-area.^[31] The TCA thereby lays the foundation of the maritime security coordination and encompasses regulations on extended intelligence sharing, joint border patrols and the operationalization of the Standard Operating Procedure for maritime patrols.^[24]^: 33 Therefore, the three countries established so- called Maritime Command Centres in Tarankan, Tawau and Bonga which serve as operation command and monitoring centres. Furthermore, drawing on efforts to combat piracy in Somalia, Malaysia and the Philippines established special transit corridors to ensure safe passage for commercial ships.^[30] These patrolled corridors serve as safety zones for vessels traversing the region. Notice must be given to one of the Command Centres 24 hours in advance to ensure adequate assistance.^[30]^: 8 Moreover, in 2018, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the three countries established a Contact Group on Maritime Crime in the Sulu and Celebes Seas.^[32]

Factors and root causes

Despite efforts by Malaysian and Philippine authorities to curb piracy in the Sulu Sea, the problem continues to persist.^[19]^: 155 Weak maritime law enforcement, corruption, rivalries between the involved states, and unresolved territorial claims are major barriers to an effective suppression of piracy.^[23]^: 19–20 Security forces are sometimes involved in organizing piratical activities as well, supplying weapons and intel to pirates.^[21]^{: 278–279} The littoral nature of the Sulu Sea makes it easy for pirates to surprise victims and evade law enforcement. On land, the area's poor economic conditions drive people to resort to various forms of crime, including piracy, to make a living. Piracy, in turn, exacerbates the population's economic deprivation, as the primary targets are locals themselves.

The continued existence of groups like Abu Sayyaf and MILF is also to blame for the prevalence of piracy. Not only do these groups engage in piracy themselves, but security forces' efforts to suppress them have also diverted resources that could be used to combat piracy.^[22]^: 38–39 These efforts may also drive the local population towards piracy, as security forces frequently harass farmers, depriving them of their livelihood.^[19]^: 234 Small arms proliferation in the area is also high as a result of weak state authority and the armed struggle of these groups, making it easy for pirates to acquire weapons.^[19]^: 153

Cultural factors may also play a role, with most modern-day pirates in the Sulu Sea descended from their historical predecessors, lending an element of cultural sanction to piracy. It has been suggested that piracy may, in part, be motivated by associated virtues such as honor and masculinity, which pirates can display through their operations.^[7]^: 41 Piracy is also not seen as an inherently criminal activity by the population living at the edge of the Sulu Sea, which is reflected in the local languages.^[21]^{: 273–274}

Piracy statistics

Piracy statistics on incidents in the region primarily rely on reports issued by the Piracy Reporting Centre of the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) or the Information Sharing Centre of ReCAAP. Data from the International Maritime Organization cannot be used, as they only report from two locations, the Straits of Malacca and the South China Sea.^[33]

Overall, the numbers differ depending on each institutions' reporting processes, sources they derive their information from, classification mechanisms, location of attacks, types of ships attacked, their status, political considerations.^[33]^: 18 The IMB, for example, relies on data from shipowners, whereas the ReCAAP's ISC derives their data from official staff, naval and coast guard officers.^[33]^: 15 Furthermore, underreporting and overreporting are also further bias factors, as shipowners or local seafarers refuse to report incidents due to different reasons. Shipmasters, for example, often fear disruptions to their schedules or a rise in insurance costs.^[33]^: 16 Attacks on local craft on fishing boats and small tugs are often not noted due to the lack of infrastructure or a lack of trust in the authorities.^[21]^: 275 Some incidents, contrarily, are reported, but without specific details on the location (threat at harbor or at sea.^[33]^: 15 Thus, piracy statistics demand a detailed look into the circumstances of the acquisition of data and contexts surrounding the information.^[33]^: 17

Gallery

Piratical Proa in Full Chase
An Iranun garay armed with a lantaka at the bow
An engagement with pirates off Sarawak in 1843
Spanish warships bombarding the Moro pirates of Balanguingui in 1848
The Spanish landing at Balanguingui by Antonio Brugada
19th century barong from the Sulu Archipelago
Garay warships in the Sulu Sea, c. 1850
A fight between Filipino pirates, a Bugis trading ship, and Dutch mariners

References

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^ Ikrami, Hadyu (2018). "Sulu-Sulawesi Seas Patrol: Lessons from the Malacca Straits Patrol and Other Similar Cooperative Frameworks". The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law. 33 (4): 800. doi:10.1163/15718085-12334092. S2CID 158983060.
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