MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Suspected Abu Sayyaf militants attacked a Vietnamese cargo ship and kidnapped its captain and five crewmen off the southern Philippine island of Basilan early Friday, in the latest in a wave of sea assaults that have alarmed the region’s leaders. The recent abduction brings to at least eight the number of people snatched from sea vessels in the region over the past week, including an elderly German sailor, raising fears that authorities are unable to control the worsening piracy problem. In Vietnam, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said the MV Royal 16 was on its way to Indonesia from Vietnam’s northern port city of Hai Phong with 19 crew members and a cargo of cement when it was attacked. A local cargo ship, MV Lorcon Iloilo, passing near Basilan rescued a wounded sailor who apparently had managed to escape and gave him first aid. About 10 gunmen boarded the MV Royal 16 at dawn off southern Basilan island, where the Abu Sayyaf is active, then fled with their captives in a speedboat, regional military spokesman Maj. Filemon Tan said, citing crewmen from another ship, MV Lorcon Iloilo, who provided help to the Vietnamese ship after the attack. Razak said the Philippines has allowed Malaysia to enter the country’s southern border in hot pursuit of Abu Sayyaf bandits and kidnap groups in the wake of a slew of ransom kidnappings in Sabah near the province of Tawi-Tawi. Although most of their targets have been tugboats, which are easy to board, the militants attacked an ocean-going South Korean cargo ship for the first time about two weeks ago off southern Tawi Tawi province, near Sulu, abducting its South Korean skipper and a Filipino crewman. It beheaded Canadian national John Ridsdel in April in the southern province of Sulu after a ransom deadline passed, and also beheaded his fellow countryman Robert Hall in June. Filipino authorities are conducting a military operation against the group and the country's newly-elected President Rodrigo Duterte, who is tough on crime, has pledged to wipe out the group. The Philippines has agreed to allow Malaysian and Indonesian maritime forces to pursue kidnappers into its waters to contain the threat, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Thursday.
Six Vietnamese sailors are kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf off the coast of the Philippines.