India expands counter terror coop with Philippines in ongoing Fight Against ISIS

NEW DELHI: India has expanded its anti-terror and de-radicalisation partnership with the Philippines, which is battling a three-week siege by Islamic State-affiliated militants in the city of Marawi, about 800 km south of capital Manila.

As part of the move, the BJP-led government has rushed a financial assistance of $500,000 (about Rs 3.2 crore) for rehabilitation of Marawi citizens, who are mainly Muslims. India is currently conducting cyber security training with a special emphasis on de-radicalisation for the Philippine security personnel.

The support was extended after external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj spoke with her Philippines counterpart Alan Peter Cayetano over the phone last Thursday.

India’s assistance is part of the Narendra Modi-led government’s ‘Act East’ policy and comes at a time when the Philippines is getting ready to host India-Asean foreign ministers meeting in Manila in August, which will mark the 25th anniversary of India-Asean relations. This will be followed by the annual India-ASEAN summit and the East Asia summit in November, where combating terror is expected to figure high on the agenda.

The Philippines is the only Southeast Asian nation where IS has established an overt presence.

While India and the Philippines have a joint working group on counter-terrorism that meets regularly, the current situation in Marawi, where 80 soldiers have been killed over the past three weeks, warranted closer security coordination between Delhi and Manila, people familiar with the matter indicated.

India is also expanding its counter-terror partnership with Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, which are on the radar of global terror groups, including IS, informed one of the persons quoted above. India is hosting an international de-radicalisation conference later this year where a separate session will be devoted to the Asean region.

The Marawi siege began on May 23 when the Philippines security forces launched an offensive to capture Isnilon Hapilon, leader of the IS-affiliated Abu Sayyaf group. The US, which is an old ally of the Philippines, China and Russia have also expressed solidarity with Manila. Similar support has been extended by Australia and Canada.