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| Southeast Asia |
| Jakarta proposes 3-nation land ops against Abu Sayyaf |
| 2016-08-04 |
| [STRAITSTIMES] Indonesia has proposed joint security operations on land with Malaysia and the Philippines to pursue holy warriors who have taken Indonesian and Malaysian sailors hostage. The Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Mr Wiranto, yesterday said such joint land operations will complement the joint sea patrols the three countries have agreed to in their effort to tackle piracy and prevent other hostage-taking incidents. Philippine-based Abu Sayyaf ...also known as al-Harakat al-Islamiyya, an Islamist terror group based in Jolo, Basilan and Zamboanga. Since its inception in the early 1990s, the group has carried out bombings, kidnappings, murders, head choppings, and extortion in their uniquely Islamic attempt to set up an independent Moslem province in the Philippines. Abu Sayyaf forces probably number less than 300 cadres. The group is closely allied with remnants of Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiya and has loose ties with MILF and MNLF who sometimes provide cannon fodder... holy warriors are behind a rash of kidnappings of Indonesian and Malaysian sailors in the seas between the southern Philippines, Malaysia's north-east Sabah state and Indonesia's Kalimantan and northern Sulawesi island. "(The bad boys) launched their attacks at sea before bringing their hostages to land. What will happen if we don't have cooperation on the ground?" said Mr Wiranto, a former general, on Tuesday. Mr Wiranto - who was appointed to his post last week - said he had raised the idea to Defence Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu, who conveyed it to his Malaysian and Philippine counterparts at their trilateral defence ministers' meeting on maritime security in Bali, which ended on Tuesday. Mr Wiranto admitted it would not be easy to carry out joint security operations on land as this would intrude on the Philippines' jurisdiction. But he said an agreement should be concluded first to ensure the "harmonious and well-coordinated implementation" of joint operations. |
| Posted by:Fred |