With the battle for Marawi seemingly poised to enter its third month of fighting between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and extremist forces in southern Philippines who’ve pledged allegiance to ISIS, Singapore has extended its hand to provide military aid.
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen has reached out to Philippine Secretary of National Defence Delfin Lorenzana during a meeting between the two ministers in Manila to help improve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities with the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
He also offered to allow Filipino troops to train in the Singapore Armed Forces’ (SAF) urban training facilities, and to send humanitarian supplies using a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) C-130 aircraft to civilians and evacuees affected in the besieged state.
“These extremist leaders want to establish bases in cities like Marawi and from there, launch further attacks against other cities within the Philippines and ASEAN, and urge their cells to attack targets in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Many countries within ASEAN and beyond are monitoring the extremist violence there and offering assistance.”
“Peace-loving countries understand that if we do not combat terrorism together, we will be attacked individually, and our citizens will never be safe at home.” Dr Ng wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday (Jul 19).
Lorenzana has “expressed his appreciation and in-principle acceptance of the offer from Singapore”, according to a Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) statement.
ISIS-linked groups have declared their aim to build an Islamic Caliphate around Southeast Asia. Their intention to use Marawi as a launchpad to carry out attacks in other cities has resulted in hundreds of civilians killed and thousands forced out of their homes. It is said that their main objective is to raise the black ISIS flag at local government offices in Marawi and declare a provincial ISIS territory in Lanao del Sur.
“While the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) is confident that Marawi will be secured from terrorists soon, further concerted efforts are required to ensure that other terrorist cells do not entrench themselves in the southern Philippines, as this would cause instability to the rest of Asean,” said MINDEF.
