And Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last week urged China to launch patrols off the piracy-plagued waters, citing Beijing's dispatch of a naval convoy to the Gulf of Aden in 2009 to protect Chinese ships from Somali pirates. The Philippines have appealed for assistance from China and the US over hijackings by Islamist militants on the Northeast Passage , a crucial sea trade route , which is the fastest route between Australia and China , Japan and South Korea . It is keen for it not to become a Somalia - style pirate haven . Abu Sayyaf gunmen from the southern Philippines have over the past year been attacking ships and kidnapping crewmen for ransom in the area , and the escalation has caused regional alarm . " It 's not just the concern of the Philippines or Indonesia and Malaysia , but of the international shipping community , " said Philippine Coast Guard chief commodore Joel Garcia .
The Philippines have appealed for assistance from China and the US over hijackings by Islamist militants on the Northeast Passage , a crucial sea trade route , which is the fastest route between Australia and China , Japan and South Korea . It is keen for it not to become a Somalia - style pirate haven . Abu Sayyaf gunmen from the southern Philippines have over the past year been attacking ships and kidnapping crewmen for ransom in the area , and the escalation has caused regional alarm . " It 's not just the concern of the Philippines or Indonesia and Malaysia , but of the international shipping community , " said Philippine Coast Guard chief commodore Joel Garcia .