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Thursday, December 08, 2005
RP-Malaysia joint marine training starts
By Al Jacinto
ZAMBOANGA CITY -- The Philippines and Malaysia began on Tuesday a weeklong joint maritime exercise off southern Mindanao Island to further strengthen efforts to fight terrorism and criminality at sea, officials said.
About a dozen ships and an unspecified number of troops from both countries were involved in the exercises, said Commodore Rufino Lopez, the Philippine Navy chief in southern Philippines.
"This is part of an annual maritime exercise between the Philippines and Malaysia to further strengthen our efforts to fight terrorism and criminality at sea," Lopez said.
Aside from Malaysia, the Philippines also hold similar exercises with Indonesia.
Australia is also sending an RAAF Orion reconnaissance plane to the Philippines to demonstrate how such aircraft could be used against terrorists, said Defense Minister Robert Hill.
The Orion AP-3C aircraft would not undertake any real operational activities while in the Philippines, he said.
But the demonstration visit would highlight the value of an air-based maritime surveillance capability to monitor the movement of terrorists and criminal groups in the region, Australian newspaper The Age said on Tuesday.
Hill visited Zamboanga City in October and expressed willingness to help Manila fight terror threats and offered to conduct joint patrols of seas and provide the country with boats to improve its security campaign.
He said the Philippine government was examining options to enhance its maritime security, especially in the southern region where security forces are battling the Abu Sayyaf group.
Troops are also hunting dozens of Jemaah Islamiah militants who could use the region as a sanctuary for terrorist training.
Australia is training Filipino Special Forces on long-range reconnaissance and providing air and sea surveillance to help root out Jemaah Islamiyah terrorists believed to be hiding in Mindanao.
The RAAF's Orion aircraft has a very advanced capability for ocean surveillance as well as for reconnaissance over land. The airplanes are currently conducting patrols over the border of Iraq and Syria to detect insurgent infiltrators.
Hill said the RAAF would demonstrate the aircraft's maritime patrolling capabilities to senior Filipino government and military officials.
"It is important that Australia helps the Philippines continue to build its armed forces to better protect the south from terrorist groups looking to grow their support base and establish training camps and links within the region."
"We are looking at opportunities to provide further assistance in intelligence and special forces training, strengthening maritime security and helping the Philippines develop a small watercraft capability to better patrol the southern riverine and marshland areas of Mindanao," Hill said in a statement.
Manila and Canberra signed defense cooperation in 1995 and since then had been conducting regular counter-terrorism exercises. (Sun.Star Zamboanga/Sunnex)
(December 8, 2005 issue)
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