ZAMBOANGA CITY, 15 September 2006 — Australia has offered to train Filipino special forces’ soldiers in the restive southern Philippines, where the military is battling members of the Al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf militants, local officials said yesterday.
Officials said the training, involving the Philippine and Australian armies, would probably begin before the year ends.
“The trainings will probably start this year, but it all depends on Australia,” said Philippine Army Maj. Eugene Batara, a regional spokesman.
Lt. Gen. Peter Leahy, Australia’s army chief, visited Zamboanga City yesterday and met closed door with Filipino military commanders led by Maj. Gen. Eugenio Cedo, chief of the military’s Western Mindanao Command. Leahy did not speak to reporters.
Leahy, accompanied by a several Australian army officials, was guarded by two US soldiers when he arrived onboard a van at the Western Mindanao Command headquarters, where a Filipino soldiers provided covert security. He also met with US soldiers involved in training local troops in anti-terrorism warfare.
Batara said the Australians were here to discuss about the training. “Basically, Australia wanted to train special forces units of the Philippine Army to further help our soldiers develop “riverine” operations capability,” he said. Riverine operation usually refers to anti-terrorism and special missions along the Philippine coasts.
“The Philippines is an archipelagic country and our shorelines are long and unguarded. The terrorists come and go using our shorelines. There is a need to secure the shorelines and deny the terrorists access to these areas,” Batara said.
Philippine troops are also pursuing two Jemaah Islamiyah bombers Dulmatin and Umar Patek in Jolo island, where the Abu Sayyaf is coddling the duo, blamed by both Canberra and Jakarta as behind the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 mostly Australian holiday-makers.
Canberra is concerned about the Philippine hunt for Dulmatin and Patek in Jolo. “ Australia is concerned about the hunt for the two JI terrorists and that is why they are here to help us by providing special operations’ training. Australia and the Philippines are allies in the war on terrorism,” Batara said.
Both countries have been holding informal talks since 2002 to sign a status of forces agreement that would allow Australian troops to train Filipino soldiers in the south, just like what the US military forces are now doing in the Philippines .
US troops are currently training Filipino soldiers in anti-terrorism warfare in Basilan and Jolo islands as part of Washington’s security assistance to Manila.
The US training in the southern Philippines began in 2002 and since then had benefited thousands of Philippine troops, but American forces are not allowed to participate in direct combat operation because the Philippine Constitution bars foreign troops from going into combat.
Like Washington, Canberra is anxious to prevent terrorists from using the Philippines’ remote southern islands as bases to plot attacks in the region and already provides annual training for about 60 Filipino soldiers in Australia.
After the United States, Canberra was the second largest provider of defense and counter-terrorism assistance at $13.5 million in 2006, according to Australian reports late last month.
The reports also quoted Tony Hely, Australia ‘s ambassador, that his government was also donating equipment to help Manila improve its counter-terrorism operations in the south, giving the army three flat-bottomed river boats to navigate the marshy areas on the southern island of Mindanao.
Australia has been expanding security cooperation with Southeast Asian states since the 2002 Bali bombings and the Philippines and Indonesia have been the main beneficiaries of Canberra’s military assistance program.
Apart from security aid, Australia was also planning to spend nearly $70 million this year to help develop communities in southern Philippines infiltrated by extremists.
