| P'PINES ASSURES M'SIA OF
HELP IN RESCUING HOSTAGES
MANILA, April 24 (Bernama) --
The Philippines has assured Malaysia of cooperation in rescuing the 22 people, including
some foreign tourists, taken hostage by gunmen in Sabah, the Malaysian Ambassador Arshad
Hussein said today.
He told Bernama that the assurance was relayed to him by Defence Secretary Orlando Mercado
and Philippines National Police Deputy Chief, Gen Reynaldo Wycoco.
He said he met Wycoco and spoke by phone with Mercado to check whether the boat used by
the gunmen in hauling off the hostages had been sighted in Philippine waters.
"The answer I got was that they are making all efforts if at all the boat is in the
Philippine waters," he said.
Foreign wire reports said masked gunmen armed with rocket launchers and M16 rifles grabbed
the hostages at about 10pm Sunday in the island of Sipadan.
They fled along with the hostages on a boat reportedly headed towards Philippine waters.
But Arshad said the boat could be headed anywhere.
He said that nonetheless, Philippine defence and police authorities had assured him that
they would exert all efforts to rescue the hostages should the boat slip through the
country's territorial waters.
Arshad said the Philippines had already placed on alert its air force, navy and army
units, but no sighting had been made so far.
"The Malaysian and Philippine navies are already in touch with each other," he
said. The two Asean neighbours have an existing joint border patrol agreement.
Asked if the hostage-taking was linked to the Philippine government's anti-terrorist drive
in Basilan province, Arshad said: "I don't know. I don't like to comment on
that".
Speculations are rife in Manila that the extremist Abu Sayyaf rebels had resorted to
hostage-taking in Sabah and took the hostages to the Philippines to ease the ongoing
military pressures on them.
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