Duterte to ASEAN leaders: Blast pirates out of our shipping lanes

President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday said the piracy in the Malacca Strait needed to be stopped before it would affect trade in the region.

The President said he would seek discussions on the matter with the leaders of affected countries like Malaysia and Indonesia to ask for a decisive military solution.

"I tend to deal with my last card. That has been my character. And if I get to talk to the leaders, there is one thing I can just offer. Blast them out of the seas to keep our shipping lanes open and safe," Duterte said.

Duterte raised the issue at the High-Level Forum on ASEAN@50 in Manila, where he said that terrorism has entered into the shipping lanes in southeast Asia.

"They have committed enough piracy there, enough money collected from ransoms, needlessly killing people, decapitating them in front of cameras. I think that has to stop," Duterte said.

Duterte in 2016 said he would raise the piracy problem in the Malacca Strait during his trip to Malaysia. —NB, GMA News