Jakarta (VNA) - The Indonesian and Philippine navies have recently conducted a joint patrol along their maritime border as part of the third phase of the Philippine-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Corpat Philindo) XXXVIII mission this year.
Specifically, Indonesia's KRI Marlin-877 and Philippine BRP Artemio Ricarte (PS37) naval ships were deployed for the mission from September 5 to 14, according to Colonel Widyo Sasongko, head of the information office of the Indonesian Navy's Second Fleet Command.
The joint patrol was officially launched on September 9 at the Felix Apolinario Naval Station in Davao, the Philippines, in the presence of the Indonesian Navy's Manado Naval Base VIII commander, Commodore May Franky Pasuna Sihombing.
Sihombing said that the coordinated patrol is a regular activity of the two navies based on a border agreement inked in 1956, which also provided the legal basis for the development of a joint Border Committee, established to ensure smooth border and traditional cross-border activities and patrol operations in the countries' maritime border, as well as to expedite the resolution of issues arising in the maritime border.
Indonesia and the Philippines share maritime borders in Sulawesi and the Sulu Sea. The area is known to be frequented by pirates and Abu Sayyaf-affiliated terror operatives. It is also a route for cross-border smuggling and human trafficking./.
