The Indonesian government has responded aggressively to the second kidnapping of Indonesian nationals from two more Indonesian ships.
Four Indonesian crew members were kidnapped on April 15 at 6:31 p.m. local time when unidentified pirates tried to hijack two Indonesian-flagged boats: tugboat TB Henry, and Barge Christi.
The two boats were on their way from Cebu, the Philippines, to Tarakan, North Kalimantan, when the hijacking occurred, the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry noted in a statement in Jakarta on April 16.
The boats carried 10 Indonesian crew members, of which one was shot, five managed to escape, and four were abducted by the pirates.
In a two-minute video viewed by The Straits Times, the hostages are shown demanding the government to pay a ransom of 900 million pesos, or US$26.5 million, by 3 p.m. local time on April 25.
The commander stated that his visit to Tarakan city was in line with President Joko Widodo`s instructions in a bid to address the second kidnapping of Indonesians by the militant group.
Source: Tempo
