Filipino president Rodrigo Duterte is looking to combat piracy in southeast Asia — apparently including giving the country's Navy the go-ahead to kill pirates on sight.

Speaking over the weekend, the bellicose head of state said he had spoken with his counterparts in Malaysia and Indonesia about the need to combat piracy in the Sulu and Celebes seas.

He said the crime of piracy "gives any nation the right to blow you to the high heavens," according to the Manila-based Daily Tribune.