News & Comment
Sulu Sea: Axis of Maritime Crime of Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines?

News:

ANTARA reported the recurring incident of abductions of Indonesian tugboat crewmen. This time, an armed group abducted three Indonesian tugboat crewmen in the State of Sabah, east Malaysia,the part of the Sulu Sea. It was stated officially by the local police onlast Sunday, July 10. The tugboat with seven crewmen was in the waters off the coast of Sabah, Borneo, about eight miles from the coast, when an armed groupin a white boatattacked them on Saturday night, said local marine police. "The suspect asked about who carry passports. Three crewmen who carry passports were then taken into the boat, while four other who did not were left,"said the marine police in a press statement.

The Abu Sayyaf, were directly blamed to be responsible for this abduction because they beheaded a Canadian hostage before, and they are notorious forextortion of millions of dollars as ransom. Currently, 10 Indonesian tugboat crewmenwere known to be hostagesof Abu Sayyaf separatist group. Three were abducted in the waters off Sabah, Malaysia, while seven others were abducted in Sulu Sea, southern Philippines, since June 23, 2016.

Member of the House of Representatives' Commission I, Charles Honoris, suggested the need for humanitarian intervention efforts to save Indonesian citizens who were held hostage by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines waters. "In international law, there’s doctrine of Humanitarian Intervention, that is military of foreign country or army which is mandated by the United Nations that could enter the sovereign territory of a country to save lives and prevent the mass murder," he said in Jakarta, Sunday, July 17.

Before the incident in this July, the US military has given a statement that they are willing to lend a hand if needed for it’s a part of America’s aim to ensure the freedom and safety of navigation in the region, as reported by the South China Morning Post last Monday, July 4. Moreover, Rear Admiral Brian Hurley said the US Navy has worked with Southeast Asian governments to ensure freedom of navigation and the safety of people in the economically bustling region and would continue to do so. He pointed at what they did in the disputed region of South China Sea, where the US Navy deploy approximately 700 ships each year to patrol - an average of two ships per day - to ensurethe freedom of navigation "and we would continue to do so worldwide," said Hurley.

Comment:

The Sulu Sea today is labeled as prone and unstable area because of the issue of terrorism. The Sulu Sea is also strategic because it is the interaction axis of three countries (Indonesia – Malaysia-Philippines). Traditionally, a natural network of transnational society was formed between North Kalimantan in Tarakan - Nunukan, Sabah in Tawau to Sandakan, until the Sibutu Island, Tawi-tawi, Jolo - Basilan to Zamboanga city in the western tip of Mindanao. Because of the close relationship, smuggling has become part of everyday life there.

To understand what is happening in this region, we need to analyze it from two aspects. Firstly, the attachment of criminal groups to the label of Islam, especially in areas that have strategic value in political economy as in this Sulu Sea. The location with this profile clearly has invited a lot of attention, many want to get involved and intervene, because it is highly strategic for world trade and military interests geopolitically. Meanwhile, the issue of terrorism that is attached to the Moro Muslims in the southern Philippines also became a kind of legitimacy for many Western interests to get into this region.

The Muslim Ummah needs to take a stand, we need to unequivocally reject all attachments of criminal acts to Islam, because piracy or abduction, especially to fellow Muslims, is clearly forbidden by Islam. Besides, Muslim Ummah should continue to strongly criticize any anti-terrorism rhetoric echoed as solution for the prone case of Sulu Sea, because this is actually a cheap trick to propagate Islamophobia. Each anti-terrorist narrative today, either propagated through policy and media rhetoric is already contained with social engineering efforts to create an atmosphere of degrading Islam and justification for violating the honor and rights of Muslims.

Secondly, is the issue of handling capacity of regional security. The question that also arises is why those groups still exist, although there are patrolling and cooperative patrols of three countries. This question always ends up with the answer that this three countries’ patrol capacity was not adequate, and the weakness of this capacity almost always ends with the presence of a third party, in this case the US military superpower, that has great importance to control the sea lanes in Southeast Asia. As we know that the Naval Fleet of United States Navy (US Navy) also guards the shaft of Manila - Java - Australia from the Sulu Sea - Sulawesi Sea - Makassar Strait to the Java Sea.

Based on the experience of many Islamic countries, the internationalization of the issue of Muslim Ummah, besides showing the weakness of the sovereignty of the Muslim countries, it also means invitation to occupation of land and water areas of the Muslim Ummah. Whereas in the past, the power of Islam in the 15th century, the Sulu Sea region was actually stable, secured, and growing into political and economic power, in which Islam with its concept of supra-national state has never been distraught in facing any threats, challenges, obstacles, and interferences in the strategic area of intersection of the economic interests of many countries, as what happens today. Because at the time, all Muslims in Mindanao, Sulu, Sabah, and Tarakan is one political entity, not blocked by national borders like today.

Remove the foreigners’ helping hand! And return to the Islamic law in resolving the security issues of this Sulu Sea! Islamic foreign policy that is performed by the institution of the Khilafah "Caliphate" will end the foreign policies of the Muslim lands that are full of atmosphere of weakness and submission, to be replaced with new pattern on the basis of Islam. As exemplified by the Caliph Umar bin Abdul Aziz based on Quran Surah Al-Baqarah verse 85-86, who upheld the maritime sovereignty of the Islamic State while prohibited the blocking of shipping in the off sea and drawing customs, except when entered the continental shelf. Khilafah "Caliphate" (Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood will run a foreign policy vision that has noble orientation to spread Islamic dawah throughout the world with the methods of dawah and Jihad.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Fika Komara
Member Center Media Office Hizb ut Tahrir