Indonesia, Philippines launch joint patrol to tackle IS threat
Indonesia and the Philippines plan to conduct a joint maritime patrol this week as part of efforts to prevent militants of the Islamic State (IS) from entering the Philippines’ restive southern island of Minadao, where rebels have seized a city.
The naval force of Indonesia in a counter-terrorism excercise in Banda Aceh (Photo: AFP/VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia and the Philippines plan to conduct a jointmaritime patrol this week as part of efforts to prevent militants of theIslamic State (IS) from entering the Philippines’ restive southern island ofMinadao, where rebels have seized a city.
A Philippine military spokesman said on July 2 that the patrol is intended tostrengthen border security and enhance operational collaboration between thetwo countries’ forces.
The two nations’ warships will sail from Davao city of the Philippines on July6. They will patrol Davao gulf and common waters along the Celebes Sea.
Regional governments fear that fighters pledging loyalty to the IS will cross thesea from Malaysia and Indonesia to join rebels who seized Marawi city fiveweeks ago.
Over 400 people, including fighters, local people and the Philippines’ securityforces, were killed during clashes.
On July 1, the Philippine navy was joined by the US in a patrol in the southernPhilippine waters. Two weeks earlier, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippinesjointly patrolled their common maritime borders in the Celebes Sea and SuluSea.-VNA
Indonesian police have found hundreds of books containing Islamic State (IS) propaganda targeting children at the home of a suspect arrested in connection with the stabbing death of an officer, a police spokeswoman said on June 26.
The Philippine government will continue its policy of no negotiation with Islamic State (IS)–linked militant groups which are holed up in the southern city of Marawi, presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said at a press conference on June 27.
Terrorism has become a regional issue, which requires members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to tighten coordination to prevent terrorist attacks.
The navy forces of the US and the Philippines has conducted a joint patrol in the Sulu Sea off the southern coast of the Philippines at the request of the latter’s government.
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The naval force of Indonesia in a counter-terrorism excercise in Banda Aceh (Photo: AFP/VNA) 
