Members of the international community continue to maintain that Mindanao is a training ground for terrorists in Southeast Asia despite the Philippine government’s insistence that it is doing a good job against terrorism. In separate speeches, Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer and Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong both claimed that the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist organization is working with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in training new terrorists.
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In his speech before the Australian Press Club in Canberra yesterday, Downer said that there is "ample evidence of increasing coordination among terrorist groups." "JI, for instance, is cooperating with Islamic groups in the southern Philippines, to the point of sharing facilities and operational expertise," he said. Downer made this observation as he noted that successes against terrorist groups over the past few years have not ended their operation, particularly the JI as the main regional terrorist organization. "Terror cells are planning for the medium and long term. They are patient. So we must continue our vigilance – and continue to fight this battle on many fronts," he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Lee of Singapore also believes that the JI has a "supporting infrastructure that continues to facilitate its terrorist activities." "Military training facilities, for example, in Mindanao are still turning out regional militants in bomb-making and other military skills," Lee said in a recent speech before the Inter-Racial Confidence Circles Forum in Singapore. The two officials stressed the need for continued cooperation between the countries in the region to tackle terrorism. They noted that the war will last long so there is a need for tough and sustained actions against the terrorist groups. The US has repeatedly claimed that JI terrorist cells are training inside the camps of the MILF but so far no direct action has been taken on these claims. It is suspected that the Arroyo administration is being careful in acting against the MILF since peace talks with the rebel group resumed. |