Palace: PHL, Malaysia, Indonesia air patrol to boost regional anti-terror campaign

Malacañang on Saturday said the recently launched trilateral air patrol by the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia would "boost" the fight against terrorism in the region.

"The coordinated joint air patrols between the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia were launched in Malaysia to better counter the movement of terrorist groups and to strengthen the security of our three nations and that of the region," Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said in a statement.

"By sharing information and exchanging best practices, we hope to improve the interoperability of our forces and help better secure areas of common maritime interest," the Palace official added.

Top defense and military officials of the three countries launched last Thursday the Trilateral Air Patrol (TAP) to address security problems in maritime areas of common concern.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Major General Restituto Padilla earlier said the program will allow the air assets of the three countries to regularly patrol areas of common concern especially in light of the threat posed by the pro-ISIS group Maute.

He said TAP is expected to boost the earlier agreed Trilateral Maritime Patrol.

He said Brunei and Singapore sent their representatives to the event as observers.

Padilla said the agreement has designated the area of maritime interest that will be the subject of both maritime and air patrols.

He said each country will take turns in leading the mission through a designated mission commander using host country air assets. — Ted Cordero/MDM, GMA News