PHL, Indonesia, Malaysia agree to control terrorist funds, propaganda

The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have agreed to intensify counter-terrorism cooperation by blocking the movement of terrorists, funds, weapons and social media disinformation.

The countries also expressed concern over the attack launched by Islamic State-linked local militants in Marawi last month.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and his counterparts Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Masurdi and Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, along with their top defense and security officials, met in Manila where they forged a trilateral cooperation to prevent extremists from establishing operational bases in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia have likewise agreed to enhance the intelligence and information sharing and stop the flow of terrorist financing.

Officials also agreed to contain the spread of terrorism and terrorism-related content in the cyberspace, particularly the social media.

Terrorist exploitation of information and communication technology and the dissemination of terrorist messages must be prevented and suppressed, they said.

“Technology has enabled terrorism to spread their message faster and more promptly than ever before,” Anifah said. “They probably have experts in using social media to recruit followers in foreign countries.”

They also agreed to prevent and stop the flow of illicit arms and arms smuggling and to consider a specialized military and law-enforcement training.

“While the battle is now in the hands of the armed forces, let us not lose sight of the fact that drugs, crime, poverty and injustices create fertile ground for extremism,” Cayetano said.

“The struggle to uplift the quality and dignity of each life is the ultimate struggle,” he added.

The meeting proposed by Indonesia reaffirmed the three governments’ commitment “to effectively address existing as well as emerging transnational challenges and threats that have the potential to undermine the stability and well-being of countries in the region,” according to a joint statement released at the conclusion of the meeting.

While the ministers raised concern over the incidents of terrorism and violent extremism in their countries, they “reaffirmed their desire to work together to jointly develop and implement counter-terrorism measures and strategies.”

“No country is immune from the crime of terrorism,” Masurdi said. “This crime is beyond borders. Your challenges are Indonesia’s challenges. And your challenges are also the challenges of the region.”

Clashes between government troops and Islamic militants have been going on in Marawi since May 23 after the armed Muslim organization Maute Group and their supporters attacked the city, prompting President Rodrigo Duterte to declare martial law in the whole of Mindanao.

Military said the militants, led by the Maute group and Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the local terrorist group Abu Sayyaf, have been planning to seize the city, but was preempted by government troops, resulting to fierce firefight and prompting thousands of civilians to flee the city.

“The challenges posed by terrorism in this day and age differs from those in the past in three very significant ways,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said.

“In the past, terrorists maintain a sense of self-preservation unlike today. It is far more difficult to stop people who are willing to die.”

As of Wednesday, 26 civilians have died in the conflict, 276 militants were killed, including eight foreign fighters. On the side of the military, 67 fatalities were recorded and 461 were wounded in action.

The three countries, during the meeting, have proposed a plan of action to address "the root causes and underlying conditions of extremism, such as poverty, narcotics or illegal drugs, crime and social injustices."

Indonesia is hosting the next trilateral meeting. —NB/KVD, GMA News