PH, Malaysia, Indonesia to start joint patrols off Mindanao vs militants
SINGAPORE—Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia will launch joint patrols in waters off the Mindanao region this month to counter threats from Islamic State group militants, Malaysia’s defense minister said Saturday.
Hishammuddin Hussein made the comments at a security conference in Singapore as Philippine troops continued to battle self-styled Islamic State group gunmen who attacked the city of Marawi on Mindanao island nearly two weeks ago.
Hishammuddin said joint sea patrols in the waters bordering the three nations would kick off on June 19, with air patrols starting at a later date.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law in Mindanao in response to the crisis, describing the attack on Marawi as the start of a major campaign by IS to establish a foothold in the Philippines.
Security analysts say IS is planning to establish a “province” in the southern island of Mindanao as part of its efforts to set up a caliphate in Southeast Asia.
“If you talk about Sulu Straits (it) … would involve Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines,” Hishammuddin told delegates to Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security summit.
“So within Asean, we decided at least these three countries, to avoid being accused of doing nothing, the three of us took the initiative to have the joint patrol… initiatives in the Sulu Straits,” he added, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Hishammuddin said Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have carried out successful joint patrols in the Malacca Strait bordering their countries to fight maritime piracy.
Analysts have said the porous maritime borders between the three countries make it hard to detect the movement of militants.
Mindanao is “the primary area in the region where Islamist militant groups are still able to operate with some freedom of operation, run training camps, and conduct frequent attacks,” said Otso Iho, senior analyst at IHS Jane’s Terrorism and Insurgency Centre (JTIC).
“This level of lawlessness and the fact that the space is difficult for government forces and institutions to effectively govern makes it the most likely place for a declaration,” he told Agence France-Presse.
“It’s also the location where the vast majority of Southeast Asian groups that have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State are based.”
Hishammuddin and other defence ministers who spoke at the conference also warned of the threat posed by returning Southeast Asian militants who are fighting with the IS in Iraq and Syria where the group is losing territory.
“This however then gives rise to the disturbing prospect that the Asia-Pacific is now in DAESH’s crosshairs,” he said, using an alternative acronym for the group.
The threat is “real and multidimensional, whether from returning fighters, regional franchises or more disturbingly, from self-radicalized lone wolves,” he added.
http://globalnation.inquirer.net/15...start-joint-patrols-off-mindanao-vs-militants
Indonesia invites Singapore to join joint patrols in Sulu Sea, says Indonesian Defence Minister
SINGAPORE - Indonesia has invited Singapore to take part in joint sea patrols to fight maritime crime and terrorism in the Sulu Sea, said Indonesian Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu on Saturday (June 3).
Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines had agreed in May last year to conduct coordinated sea patrols and establish a hotline to combat piracy and kidnappings in waters bordering the three nations.
"We invite Singapore to join this platform," Mr Ryamizard told The Straits Times in an interview at an annual security summit at the Shangri-La Hotel.
Dozens of tourists, traders, fishermen and sailors have been kidnapped by the notorious Abu Sayyaf group in the waters surrounding the Philippines' Sulu archipelago, which include the Sulu Sea and the northern limit of the Celebes Sea.
The joint trilateral maritime patrols, slated to begin soon, are aimed at ensuring safety in these waters.
Speaking through a translator, Mr Ryamizard said Indonesia has explored some "potential involvement of Singapore to join this effort", and that there is a "high possibility" of Singapore doing so.
Singapore has previously welcomed the efforts by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines to deal with maritime terrorism and kidnapping incidents in their waters.
The Republic has offered the assistance of the Information Fusion Centre in Changi Naval Base, which provides maritime data.
Mr Ryamizard, who will speak at a plenary session at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday, also requested other countries such as Thailand to join the effort.
"So it will become not only a trilateral engagement, but a four or five-lateral arrangement," he said.
Turning to the threat of terrorism, Mr Ryamizard noted that Indonesia, with its majority-Muslim population, is vulnerable to its people being radicalised by terror groups like the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
The country has been hit by a spate of terror attacks in recent years, including twin suicide bombings at the Kampung Melayu bus terminal in East Jakarta on May 24 which killed three Indonesian police officers and injured 10 others.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks two days later, with one of the bombers understood to have links to militants in Poso.
While the total number of radicalised groups in Indonesia is "not so significant" - about 700 - Indonesia has to anticipate and take precautions to counter radical ideologies, Mr Ryamizard said.
"We have to protect their mindsets," he said, adding that the way to do so is to counter radical ideology with true Islamic teachings, which are more moderate.
http://www.straitstimes.com/world/i...-in-sulu-sea-says-indonesian-defence-minister