Two-pronged attack called for in "terrorism" fight
SINGAPORE: Community engagement must be combined with security
measures in a two-pronged attack to defeat violent extremism, regional
defence ministers agreed Saturday.
Singapore's defence ministry said 19 ministers and ministerial
representatives agreed on the strategy during a lunch in conjunction
with the annual Shangri-La Dialogue which involves top defence and
military officials, diplomats and security analysts.
"The ministers agreed that we needed to continue with the fight
against terrorism, and recognised that a two-pronged strategy was
necessary to combat terrorism more effectively," the statement said.
"The first prong of comprehensive security measures was needed to
neutralise, deter and respond to terrorist threats. The second prong, in
the form of community building and engagement, was needed to win the
ideological battle against violence and extremism."
An insurgency in Muslim-majority southern Thailand has claimed about
2,200 lives since January 2004 and appears to be worsening, while the
Philippines has been battling extremists, also in the nation's south,
for years. Mean while Philippine Defence Chief citing his country's
experience against Al -Queda-linked Abu Sayyaf group said A combination
of military action and development projects was key to defeating the
global threat from terrorism.
Defence Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane said development projects carried
out in parallel with military operations had improved the level of trust
between the government and local communities, constricting the
once-unhampered operations of Abu Sayyaf on the southern island of Jolo.
Local communities provided troops with information on the whereabouts
of the militants, leading to the killings and arrests of their top
leaders, Ebdane told an international security conference in Singapore.
Ebdane said the killing last year of Abu Sayyaf leader Khadaffy
Janjalani during a gun battle with troops on Jolo had caught the world's
attention.
Another top Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Solaiman, was killed by government
troops earlier this year.
"What the world did not see were the operations that applied the
combination of hard and soft approaches to addressing terrorism," Ebdane
said in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue of senior Asian defence and
security officials, and experts.
He was referring to infrastructure projects including the building of
roads, bridges, schools and medical facilities on the island, where
poverty and decades of government neglect has fed the rise of the Abu
Sayyaf and a Muslim separatist rebellion.
"The critical task was to win the confidence of the people ravaged by
conflict in Jolo. Sustained civil-military operations and humanitarian
assistance projects were undertaken to address the roots of the
conflict," Ebdane said.
In his speech, Ebdane did not mention the key role played by US
forces in providing training and high-technology surveillance equipment
to the Filipino troops. Since a military operation on Jolo began last
September the group's top two leaders have been killed and the remaining
members, said to number around 400, have splintered into smaller units
trying to evade government forces.
Singapore, Sunday, AFP |
