Janes.com on 31st October reported that militants linked to the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) are planning an attack on merchant shipping in the Sulu and Celebes seas, and the group will strike “at any opportune time”, warned an inter-governmental piracy watchdog – the Regional Co-operation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP) Information Sharing Centre (ISC), which also keeps track of kidnap-at-sea and oil siphoning cases in the region. Particularly vulnerable are crew of foreign vessels and businessmen, said ReCAAP.
