Our stronger bonds with our ASEAN friends have made possible our trilateral border patrols with Indonesia and Malaysia, which has since then put out of business sea pirates, piracy and other terrorists who used to infest our shared seas. This is a testament to the readiness of our country and our good neighbors to make regional peace and security our shared responsibility.

Original publisher’s rating

During the ASEAN Summit in November 2017, the bloc placed more emphasis in countering terrorism in the region. One example is Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines coming together to patrol maritime borders. Zachary Abuza, a leading scholar on terrorism in Southeast Asia, told Rappler in a May 2018 interview that this trilateral agreement has been successful. "The maritime shipjackings, kidnappings have really declined precipitously. Raids into Sabah have dropped off. So this is really a success story. [This] doesn’t mean it can’t be improved…But we have a very good start to build on."

Reviewed by Rappler ↗ · July 25, 2018