Nine missing after RP boat hijack

Nine missing after RP boat hijack

MANILA (AFP): Nine Filipino fishermen have been reported missing for almost two weeks after their boat was hijacked by unidentified armed men in the disputed Spratly islands in the South China Sea, a Philippine military report said here on Thursday.

The locally-registered fishing boat, identified as ML Alfie, was off Half-Moon Shoal, among the Philippine-controlled areas in the Spratlys, when the incident occurred on April 14, the report said. Those missing were among 13 fishermen in four boats gathering sea cucumbers.

The pirates took away the ML Alfie and a fishermen in it while the other fishermen were left languishing in their three small boats.

Four of the fishermen managed to come ashore while the others are still missing.

The Spratlys is a chain of islands in the South China Sea which are wholly or partially claimed by Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. All but Brunei have troops posted in the area.