REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Two Indonesians who were kidnapped in Sabah waters, Malaysia, are believed to be held in Sulu region in the Philippines, Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said. "(They are) in Sulu. A day after the kidnapping I received information from my colleague in the Philippines that they had been taken to Sulu," Retno said after a meeting at the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs here, Friday.

Retno did not have any further information on whether they had been taken hostage along with two other Indonesians who were kidnapped earlier by the Abu Sayyaf group in the Philippines waters. "There is no information on whether they are with two other Indonesians or are being held in separate locations," she said.

The government continued to seek solutions to free Indonesians kidnapped in the waters, the minister stressed. "We are still working on how to free them," she added. Earlier, the foreign ministry has called on Indonesian crews in the Sabah waters, Malaysia, to stop fishing in the region until the situation improves, following the kidnapping of two Indonesian crews in the area.

The two were kidnapped when they were fishing in Kertam waters, some 13 to 15 nautical miles of Kuala Kinabatangan, Sabah, Malaysia. The two Indonesian crews are La Utu bin La Raali who worked on SSK 00520F ship, and La Hadi bin La Adi on SN 1154/4F ship.

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