The growing prospects for maritime security cooperation in Southeast Asia

Naval War College Review, Summer, 2005 by John F. Bradford

The most successful has been Abu Sayyaff, which has conducted dozens of successful maritime operations in the southern Philippines, metropolitan Manila, and East Malaysia. In 1995, Abu Sayyaff conducted its first large-scale attack: amphibious forces landed by boat, torched the Philippine town of Ipil, robbed seven banks, and killed about a hundred people. Abu Sayyaff gained global notoriety in 2000 and 2001 when it kidnapped dozens of people, among them Filipinos, Malaysians, Chinese, Europeans, and Americans, in a series of raids on villages, resorts, and ships in and near the Sulu and Celebes Seas. Despite a large-scale government offensive backed by American forces, Philippine officials have confirmed Abu Sayyaff claims of responsibility for the 26 February 2004 sinking of Superferry 14 near Manila, in which 116 people were killed. (17)

Although so far less successful in maritime Southeast Asia than Abu Sayyaff, al-Qa'ida and its close regional allies Jemaah Islamiyah and the Kumpulan Militan Malaysia have demonstrated their intent to conduct large-scale operations against the U.S. Navy and global trade. Since 2000, regional security forces have disrupted half a dozen plots to attack American warships transiting narrow waterways or visiting ports in Southeast Asia. (18) The 2002 attack on the Limburg demonstrated al-Qa'ida's desire to strike the petroleum distribution infrastructure, a desire also confirmed by al-Qa'ida literature, including a December 2004 edict issued by Osama bin Laden. There has also been increasing concern that al-Qa'ida or its affiliates might use a merchant vessel to administer a cataclysmic attack--perhaps a nuclear bomb, radiological "dirty nuke," or other weapon of mass destruction--in a shipping container. Alternatively, a large petroleum, liquefied gas, or chemical carrier could be hijacked and either sunk in a key waterway or crashed into a port facility or population center, turning the vessel's cargo into a gigantic bomb. Many of these scenarios could cause unprecedented loss of life and economic disruption. (19)

Transnational Maritime Crime

Transnational maritime crime involves such economically motivated activity as piracy, smuggling, and illegal migration. Transnational maritime crime has substantial security ramifications. It is costly in human terms and is a major drain on national resources. Furthermore, it has a synergetic effect that exacerbates interstate conflict and nonstate political violence. For instance, illegal migration fuels tension between Malaysia and Indonesia. Transnational maritime crime provides terrorist and guerrilla groups the means to move weapons and personnel, raise funds, and recruit new members. For example, the Gerakan Aceh Merdeka is heavily involved in the smuggling of people, weapons, and other contraband across the Strait of Malacca to sustain its struggle against the Indonesian government. Similarly, Islamist terrorists are believed to maintain routes in the Celebes Sea to move operatives, explosives, and firearms between Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. (20)