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| Down Under |
| Oz steps up effort against JI |
| 2005-10-18 |
| Australia to boost training of Philippine army ZAMBOANGA, Philippines, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Australia plans to expand its training of Philippine soldiers to help them root out Indonesian militants believed to use the south of the country as a base, its defence minister said on Monday. "The work is being firmed up, it's a question of firming up the date and putting it on the ground," Robert Hill told reporters during a visit to Zamboanga City, the Philippine military's base in the southern island of Mindanao. Hill said Australia was looking at training Philippine special forces in long-range reconnaissance and providing surveillance of militant activities from the air and sea. Canberra, which has shown deep concern over the activities of Islamic militants in the southern Philippines since the 2002 Bali bombing, already provides training for about 60 Philippine soldiers a year in Australia. A handful of Australian officers are based in Philippines to train their counterparts in bomb investigation techniques. The two countries have held regular counter-terrorism exercises at sea and on land since they signed a defence cooperation agreement in 1995. Despite millions of dollars worth of U.S. military aid to the Philippines every year, security analysts have expressed concern that Indonesia's Jemaah Islamiah terror network has forged closer ties with local Muslim militants in Mindanao. The Philippines has struggled to effectively police its vast and porous sea border with Indonesia and Malaysia. Last year, Australia donated a patrol boat to the Philippine coast guard to help it tackle the illegal traffic of people, guns and other contraband to and from Mindanao. "We are obviously focused on the southern Philippines because we worry about the possible infiltration of the Jemaah Islamiah in the region who were working specifically in Mindanao," Hill said. "The Jemaah Islamiah is a threat to the whole region, including ourselves." Hill, who arrived on Sunday, is due to meet Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Defence Secretary Avelino Cruz on Tuesday to discuss anti-terrorism efforts and reforms to the graft-prone Philippine military. "We welcome the overtures from Australia for sea patrol cooperation under the principles of mutuality and sovereignty," Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said in a statement. |
| Posted by:classer |