SIA-PACIFIC ARMED FORCES AND COUNTER-TERRORISM
Secretary Avelino Cruz
Secretary of National Defense, Philippines
The Philippine Experience
The role of Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific in combating terrorism differ depending on the security environment in which they operate.
Please allow me to talk about the Philippine experience. The three (3) main internal security threats facing the Philippines come from the following groups: 1. The New People’s Army; 2. The Moro Islamic Liberation Front; and 3. The Abu Sayaff .
By law, the primary responsibility for addressing these internal security threats was transferred back to the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1998. Our experience has been that the threats posed by insurgency, secession and terrorism are closely intertwined. This complicates the internal security mission of the AFP. Nonetheless, despite scarce resources, the AFP has achieved relative success in confronting these threats. Starting in 2001, we have seen a steady decline in the recorded strengths of these threat groups.
Transforming while Performing
Philippine efforts in addressing these security threats begin with the task of increasing the capability of the AFP in its internal security operations.
We are, at present, implementing reform agenda known as the Philippine Defense Reform program or PDR. The PDR focuses on ten (10) key recommendations distilled from a three-year Joint Defense Assessment of the AFP that we conducted with the assistance of the United States. The improvements we are introducing under the PDR focus on: 1. Planning, Programming And Budgeting; 2. Operations, Intelligence and Training; 3. Logistics ; 4. Staff Development; 5. Personnel Management; 6. Capability Upgrade; 7. financial controls; 8. Defense Acquisition; 9. Civil Military Operations; and 10. Information Management. The Philippine Defense Reform is envisioned to transform the AFP into a more potent institution in confronting current and emerging security threats.
To complement the PDR, we have started implementing the AFP Capability Upgrade Plan. From 2005 to 2010, the AFP Capability Upgrade Plan will focus on acquiring basic individual and unit equipment that are needed in internal security operations to enhance mobility, firepower, communications, force protection and combat life-support, at a modest cost of over 600 Million Dollars on top of the regular budget of the AFP .
Evidently, the internal security threats we face have had a negative impact on our economy and the resolution of these threats will foster a climate conducive to faster economic growth.
Based on an assessment made by the AFP, the Philippine Defense Reform program and the AFP Capability Upgrade Plan will enable us to exert firm and continuous military pressure that, in combination with other effective economic and political efforts, will resolve our internal security threats in the next six to ten years.
Insurgency: The CPP-NPA
The insurgency being waged by the New People’s Army of the Philippine Communist Party remains our main internal security threat. We have relied on a holistic approach that emphasizes the parallel importance of addressing the root causes of the insurgency and applying firm and continuous military pressure.
Our experience reveals that the restoration of democratic institutions and political openness starting in 1986 followed by a period of steady economic growth through the 1990s together with the application of sustained military pressure resulted in a marked decline in the recorded strength of the New People’s Army (NPA). From a high of over 26,000 armed elements in 1987, its strength was dramatically reduced to less than 6,000 by 1995.
Learning lessons from the past, the AFP has been supportive of government efforts to address the root causes of the insurgency even as it continues to pursue military operations against the NPA. In support of the convergence of government efforts in bringing basic services to the remote villages in the countryside, the AFP has been undertaking socio-economic activities to win the hearts and minds of our marginalized countrymen.
For instance, the AFP Corps of Engineers are bringing electricity, potable water and constructing school buildings and medical facilities in 500 “Kalayaan Barangays” or “Freedom Villages” each year and building a network of “Kalayaan Roads” or “Freedom Roads” that provide access and bring livelihood and economic opportunities to these remote villages. These 500 “Freedom Villages” A YEAR serve as showcases of government concern and provide AN alternative to the marginalized citizens in these remote communities. Improvement of local governance in these remote locations will also be crucial in sustaining these efforts.
We are pleased that our counter-insurgency campaign has been met with relative success. Since 2001, we have again seen a steady decline in the recorded strength of the insurgency after a brief resurgence following the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. This makes us optimistic in the prospect of FINALLY resolving this insurgency.
Secession: The MILF
With respect to the MILF, the government is currently in the midst of a peace process, with the Malaysian government facilitating the talks. A cessation of hostilities has held for the LAST nineteen (19) months; and an International Monitoring Group, that includes representatives from Malaysia, Brunei and Libya, is overseeing its implementation. Just recently, the MILF held a peaceful General Assembly, with representatives of the International Monitoring Group in attendance. The AFP provided security for the event. Technical discussions are now on-going to resolve the issue of ancestral domain. We are hopeful that this issue can be resolved with the Indigenous People’s Rights Act as its framework. With respect to governance in the areas where the MILF currently has a presence, we envision the same to be provided within the context of the existing Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. These positive developments give us hope that a peace agreement WILL be reached before the end of this year.
It may be recalled that in 1996, a similar peace agreement was concluded with the Moro National Liberation Front. This gave rise to the establishment of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Another important outcome of the 1996 Peace Agreement is the integration of former MNLF combatants into the AFP. More than 5,000 former MNLF rebels have already been integrated as Officers and Enlisted Personnel INTO the AFP. This year, the integration process will be completed. As a testament to the success of the integration process, MNLF integrees have been bravely fighting side by side with their Christian brothers in AFP operations launched against the Abu Sayyaf.
For these reasons, the defense and military establishments support the on-going peace process with the MILF. As with the MNLF, a peace agreement with the MILF will result in the demobilization and disarmament of MOST OF its members. We are also hopeful that a peace agreement with the MILF will draw the line that will separate its moderate members who will return to the fold of the law, from its rogue elements that may have been providing support and sanctuaries to local and foreign terrorists. Once isolated, the AFP can focus on neutralizing these rogue elements.
Terrorism: The Abu Sayyaf
The intermittent conflict in Mindanao has rendered local governance difficult in some of its remote locations. This situation has been exploited by the Abu Sayyaf.
Addressing the threats posed by the Abu Sayyaf is the primary responsibility of the AFP. Thus, the AFP, through its Southern Command, continues to undertake sustained military operations against them. This has resulted in a dramatic decrease of the recorded strength of the Abu Sayyaf from a high of more than 1,200 fully armed members in 2000, to its current strength of less than 400. A number of key Abu Sayyaf leaders have already been neutralized. The relentless military pressure has denied these terrorists their training grounds, lairs and sanctuaries and prevented their resurgence. But evidently, the job is far from over. Although their numbers have substantially decreased, their potential to launch terrorist attacks remains a serious concern.
In recent times, the AFP in coordination with other Philippine security agencies have also given special attention to identifying, isolating and neutralizing operatives of the Jemaah Islamiyah who have managed to cross into Mindanao.
Sustained Military Pressure
To further enhance our counter-terrorism capabilities, we have organized, with the help of the United States, an elite Joint Special Operations Group to serve as our counter-terrorism strike force. It is composed of fully-equipped combat units specially trained for surgical counter-terrorism operations. Firm pre-emptive and punitive actions that have neutralized terrorists have been undertaken. These surgical strikes which avoid collateral damage have met with a lot of success.
Successful intelligence operations are vital in our counter-terrorism efforts. The Intelligence Service of the AFP continues to closely coordinate with other intelligence agencies, both foreign and domestic. These efforts have led to the identification and neutralization of a number of known terrorists and the interdiction of a number of their terrorist activities. To further enhance our intelligence capability, the AFP has embarked on strengthening its intelligence services as part of Philippine Defense Reform.
A vigilant community is essential in this campaign. Thus, local government officials, particularly the leaders of the smallest political unit at the village level called the Barangay, have been mobilized to provide intelligence and information to law enforcement agencies and the AFP through what we call the “Barangay Intelligence Network”.
Draining the Pond & Isolating the Terrorists
Our experience has shown that terrorists often take advantage of people in impoverished communities to recruit adherents, gain support, or secure safe havens. They clothe extremism with religious doctrine to cloak their agenda. They inflame the frustrations of the marginalized to radicalize them. They imbed themselves in groups that have taken-up arms against the government.
Unless isolated from these communities and organizations, every terrorist we neutralize can be replaced by others who will continue to engage in acts of terror. Experience has taught us that to isolate the terrorists, we must drain the pond of poverty and intolerance from which they breed.
For our campaign against terror to succeed, we must constantly check every attempt to radicalize the vulnerable segments of our populace. We must spread the thinking, even among those who have taken-up arms against the government, that engaging in acts of terror or providing support to those who do, is totally unacceptable and will not go unpunished. It must be clear to all that those who harbor terrorists will find no safe havens.
To be able to do these things the Philippine experience has taught us that we must strengthen the hand of our moderate Muslim brothers. It has also become clear to us that the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao must deliver the good governance needed to uplift the lives of our Muslim Filipinos.
The AFP has been doing its part in promoting tolerance in various places in Mindanao. The successful integration of former members of the MNLF into the AFP is a good example. The AFP has other successful initiatives such as the Assistance to Rural Advancement on Literacy (ARAL) and the Army Literacy Patrol System (ALPS) that provide non-formal education in remote villages through soldier-teachers. Another AFP initiative is called the Special Advocacy on Literacy, Livelihood and Advancement for Muslims (SALA’AM). It features AFP units with MNLF integrees winning the hearts and minds of our Muslim countrymen through various activities that include facilitating the delivery of basic services. All these initiatives are envisioned to promote Christian and Muslim solidarity and inter-faith dialogue.
Engaging our Allies
Considering that terrorism is a problem that knows no borders, we continue to enhance our cooperation with our friends and allies. Each year, the AFP engages in a number of training exercises with our friends and allies to improve our capabilities.
For instance, to guard the seas that join us, we have engaged in border patrol exercises with Malaysia and Indonesia. Notably, interaction among the participants in these maritime exercises has resulted in close coordination that has yielded positive gains. Through informal cooperative efforts among the naval officers of the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, we have had relative success in addressing common security concerns, equally important, unauthorized border crossings.
The next logical step may be the establishment of a mechanism, consistent with sovereignty and international law, that will afford us constant situational awareness of these waters through efficient exchange of intelligence and information. This will enhance, among others, the efficiency of our respective border patrols and provide the means for seamless security coverage in this important maritime domain. Securing this area benefits all the littoral states and enhances our individual capabilities to protect our nation’s interest.
Indeed, the role of Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific in combating terrorism is as diverse as the different security environments where they operate. The common denominator, however, is that these various armed forces have to cooperate as closely as possible to win against the war against terrorism.
