ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre on Friday said it had received information from the Philippine Coast Guard that five Abu Sayyaf Group members armed with assorted firearms are planning to conduct kidnapping activities in undisclosed areas in Sabah, Malaysia.
“They are targeting wealthy businessmen or crew of fishing boats and other slow moving ships plying within the waters off Sabah, Malaysia. The group came from Sulu and was monitored to have landed at Omapoy Island, Sipangkot, Sitangkai, Tawi Tawi,” RecAAP said.
The regional piracy watchdog advised ship masters and crew members to “exercise extra vigilance when transiting the waters off Eastern Sabah and in the Sulu-Celebes Seas”.
ReCAAP is a regional government-to-government agreement to promote and enhance cooperation against piracy and armed robbery against ships in Asia.
The ReCAAP Agreement was launched in November 2006 with 14 Asian Contracting Parties including North, Southeast, and South Asian countries.
Today, it has 20 Contracting Parties, including Europe (Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the United Kingdom), Australia, and the United States.
The ReCAAP Information Sharing Centre (ReCAAP ISC) was established in Singapore on November 29, 2006.