Pirates, Revolutionaries, and Opportunistic, Oh My
The last thing the Philippines needs is to see growth in piracy in or near its Waters but according to Reuters that’s exactly what happened.
A container ship rescued at least 10 crew members from a Singapore-registered tugboat taken over by machete-wielding pirates near Philippine territorial waters, coast guard officials said Thursday.
As best as I can tell, this happened in the northern area of the Philippines, just off the cost of Luzon often called the Main Island which I don’t agree with. The main island is Cebu. LOL Just kidding.
It appears the men were held captive for a time and then were set adrift in a lifeboat without water and food. They are lucky to be alive!
A large barge, that is a bit scary. Being an American, I guess my first thought is toward Al-qaeda for every bad thing that happens and they probably like it that way. It is alarming though what that barge could be loaded with. Last year, a large plane, 737 or 747 I think it was disappeared. As far as I know, it still hasn’t been found!
One could probably do some really nasty things with a barge. I’m unsure how hard it is to mask the identity of such a ship though. Seems like it would be hard if checks are done on ships that enter through major ports. I don’t have any experience with that.
Seems like someone could put one huge dirty bomb on something like that and part it in international waters just off the coast of Miami and do a lot of damage with the correct wind conditions!
Piracy in The Philippines
I learned that piracy in the Philippines was a much bigger problem in the past. Increase patrols by the Coast Guard helped bring an end to these kinds of theft.
So much of the Philippine economy depends on shipping that large scale piracy would be a disaster for the country. It would also put expats that use ships to travel to other countries for required tourist visa departures at additional risk. Some expats use ships to travel to Malaysia or Indonesia for their required exit from the country every 16 months.
The Philippines is far safer place than Memphis, Tn. which is where I came from. Memphis has become a scary place to live. Several times I felt very threatened in Memphis. Gangs are a huge problem there. Memphis has many great things going for it, but its crime rate is not one of them.
So, with all the problems that the Philippines has in the violence department, it is still much less of a problem than just about any place in the USA. There are different kinds of issues, kidnapping in Sulu. Bombs in Western Mindanao, pick pockets in Manila and Cebu City are all too frequent.
Expats though may be more at risk because we stand out and there is the perception that we are all rich. That is something I wish for but most of us are rich when compared to most Filipino. Why kidnap someone with no money? This makes things more dangerous in the Philippines for Westerners.
I would like to know what the per capita crime rate is for the kano (white people) which would be a far more accurate way to assess the situation. I know of a lot of Filipino victims though, especially when it comes to stolen cell phones. Armed robberies to take a person’s cell phone, often a young Filipina, are far too common.
So, while there is too much crime you are more likely to become a victim in the USA than in the Philippines so come and enjoy this wonderful place. Just keep your guard up and be smart!
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Unfortunately the risk of piracy is growing worldwide. It never completly went away especially in SE Asian waters but I had been farily low until recently. Strong action by the worlds nations is the only way to deal with this.
It is a slow process because it is easy and profitable for the pirates. Since due to the increasing pacificism of the world merchant ships are completly unarmed they are easy pickings. As we can see off the cost of Somalia there are not enough Naval ships available to protect them. The pirates know this.
Piracy on the scale we see today is on life support.
The pirates underestimate the capability of the US navy, mostly they under estimate the SEALs.
I know of three dead ones that did.
I have no idea what kind of Navy the Philippines has? Just the coast guard? A few subs, even old ones would work great.
Can AWACS detect small craft on the water, surely ship radar can. The number of ships is not a crucial factor. I’ve seen those complaints on Fox News too. They leave out how much faster these ships are and how much more space they can protect. It also leaves out air power.
I think the real issue is the US has not yet decided that piracy on other countries ships is important enough for us to commit assets toward, especially with two wars going on already. The rules of engagement probably don’t allow for our navy to engage? Likely that will be visited in an international summit..
Did you see the SEALs on Larry King Live? Retired SEALs of course. They all agreed there would have to be a “mop up” action on the ground. If its not already happening, it will but it will be covert. Last thing we need is another war. The US has already sent strong signals we will do that if necessary.
This is better debate for Hobbyist-Economist.com though. After writing this story, the Philippines press has brought to light that at least a third of the captured seamen are Filipino.
At one point during the month, the Philippine government issued a ban of all Filipino seamen traveling through the Somalia! That was quickly reversed though. I’ve seen an article in a Philippine publication calling for the USA to do something about the Filipino that need to be rescued. I’m not sure why the USA has a responsibility to do that.
I don’t know how the Philippines can do much about the situation. They have some very capable combat troops here. They do have a special forces too. Do they have the ability to launch an overseas rescue of attack on the pirate heads? I doubt they have the support vessels needed for it. One thing I know is I wouldn’t want to tangle with a properly armed and trained Filipino.
They have a reputation for fighting very well.
Hello Rusty, I agree with bombs and the kidnapping but heck I think any large American city has as many pickpockets. And still agree over all it is safer there. The gangs here do don’t always pick targets it is just part of initiation. Honk your horn at wrong person and get shot. Cut someone off in traffic and forget it. I once had a greyhound bus try to intentionally run me off the road. I could see his smile. I guess maybe I was following to close before I got a chance to pass.But i did not even honk horn. State department always warns of going to Philippines but never Large cities here. Last week Driver fell asleep or something and 5 French citizen on tour died and 27 with major injuries.
I was thinking more of violent crimes.
I put the word opportunist in because people like to argue that the terrorist don’t have anything to do with religion. I completely disagree, that’s the source of it. It may have evolved into jus thugs out for themselves but that’s the origin of the terrorist gangs.
There may be more theft and pick pockets here. Seems that way because I’ve never been told not to wear this or that on a certain street in the USA.. They say that here about certain areas because the likely hood that you’ll be relived of it is great!
Seems everyone knows someone that’s been robbed on Colon Street in Cebu City. Sometimes a pick pocket, sometiimes at knife point, sometimes by someone that snatches and runs.
Yeah I tell Filipino all the time, you honk your horn at someone in Memphis and they may shoot you and scream Honk Again mother #*%*#.
There is a travel warning for the Philippines mostly because of the terrorist and kidnapping groups. Seems like that could be lifted for the Central and Northern Philippines. Most expats totally ignore it saying the State Department doesn’t know what they are talking about. I don’t ignore it. Mindanao is a place where you’re far more likely to get blown up or kidnapped that Cebu City.
I would consider Davao safe but getting there other than by air, I would not. The Western part of Mindanao is dangerous. Sure most people there are good people and would welcome me. Its not most of the people I worry about. Most expats tell me its crazy, its safe there. Most Filipino tell me its not.
Sulu is extremely dangerous. The rest of Mindanao is not as bad. But terrorist bombs and grenades have gone off in the last six months from the Northern to the Southern tips of the Island. Odds are you’ll be okay if one visits those areas but the odds are better where I am.
The crime rate for Bogo is almost zero.