Aussie troops to train Phl counterparts in urban warfare

Australia will train Filipino soldiers in urban warfare to combat the spread of Islamic extremism after months of fierce fighting against Maute militants in Marawi City, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana announced yesterday.

Lorenzana said Australia has offered to provide training based on the Philippines’ needs and Australia’s capabilities.

“At the outset, this includes airspace coordination, urban warfare and maritime operations,” Lorenzana said in a joint press conference at Clark Field, Pampanga.

Australia’s Minister of Defense Marise Payne said her government has made available a number of its special forces to train their counterparts in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“We will go to the appropriate military bases as agreed with the Philippines’ Armed Forces and the Philippine government to provide urban warfare training, to work with the Army and the Marines,” Payne said on the sidelines of this year’s Asian Defense Minister Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus).

Australia has since September been helping the AFP battle the Islamic State (IS)-linked Maute group in Marawi by deploying two AP-3C Orion aircraft for surveillance while helping in information-gathering and analysis.

The Philippines on Monday declared victory after a fivemonth battle that claimed more than 1,100 lives and destroyed large parts of Marawi.

While the victory ended immediate fears that the IS would establish a Southeast Asian base in Marawi, concerns remain about its longerterm intentions and capabilities for the region.

The Philippines and Australia signed a Defense Cooperation Program (DCP) that provides the mechanisms for military support, intelligence sharing and people-to-people exchanges.

Lorenzana said he and Payne earlier discussed various programs and activities aimed to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries.

Australia has experience tackling the IS in Iraq and Syria and Payne said it was crucial the Philippines had the expertise to keep extremists at bay now that the key fight had been won.

Payne said the Australian forces would also have to learn from their Filipino counterparts how they were able to battle the Maute extremists in an entirely different warfare setting.

“What we have acquired (in Iraq), that we think it’s important to share with the Philippines and we discussed it with Secretary Lorenzana. Equally, the Philippines Armed Forces have skills to share back to Australian forces as well... and it’s very much a two-way street,” Payne said.

She said Canberra would immediately send teams composed of 80 troops to provide urban warfare counterterrorism training at Philippine military bases.

“The practical training the Australian Defense Force will provide will ensure the Philippines defense force is better able to counter the brutal tactics being employed by terrorists,” Payne told reporters at Clark.

“Globally we have seen the effect of extremist ideology and terrorist threats on millions of civilians and it is alarming to see this disruption come to our region,” she said.

Payne said the spread of IS-inspired terrorism was a direct threat to Australia and its interests, and Canberra was determined it “cannot establish a geographic foothold in the region.”

Lorenzana welcomed Australia’s “invaluable support,” saying the military would use the assistance to replicate the training locally.

“While we need troops now to be trained on urban warfare, we also need to build our capacity to train our troops. Part of our program that we are going to do in the near future is to build our urban (warfare training) centers,” Lorenzana said.

He said part of their discussion with Payne was the possibility of Filipino troops visiting combat training facilities in Australia.

Lorenzana said the urban warfare training to be provided by Australia to local troops would form part of an overall program of the AFP in building up its own capacity and capability in fighting enemies of state in an urban setting.

“I think (Australia is) one of the biggest source of training programs for our people. I don’t know the exact number, but I know I was a beneficiary of the Defense Cooperation Program way back then. We send a lot, I think second only to the United States,” Lorenzana said.

AFP spokesman Maj. Gen. Restituto Padilla said the Australian anti-terror troops are in the country.

“There are Australian forces already in the country to train our forces in urban warfare,” he said.

Padilla said the AFP has enough urban training but it has only few who are prepared for that kind of conflict.

“We do not lack urban warfare training per se but we have few forces who are prepared for that. We need to expand the number of people that we can train so that everyone is prepared,” he said.

Meanwhile, Army chief Brig. Gen. Gilbert Gapay said there were no new reports of foreign terrorists slipping into the country following the defeat of the Maute extremists in Marawi.

Contain North Korea

In the same news conference, Payne called on ASEAN member-states to maximize the pressure against North Korea in support of the sanctions being imposed against the hermit state to keep its destabilizing and provocative behavior in check.

Payne along with several other non-ASEAN member-states are in the country for the holding of the ADDM and ADDM Plus chaired by the Philippines.

“It is illegal. It is provocative. It is in breach of several UN Security Council resolutions. It is in breach of global agreements and international norms,” Payne pointed out.

She said the Australian government has been strong in reaffirming its position that supports the UN Security Council in imposing the strongest possible sanctions on the North Korean regime being spearheaded by the US.

Australia, she said, has even imposed a number of “autonomous sanctions” on both individuals and entities from North Korea that will bring the strongest possible pressure to bear.

Payne did not elaborate on the “autonomous sanctions” but called on other states to do their share.

“We as an international community need to make it clear that their behavior is illegal. It is destabilizing and it is provocative. We stand strongly with the South Korean government in relation to that in terms of the position the US has taken,” Payne said, citing her recent visit to South Korea.

“I am encouraging all the parties, we have to maximize the pressure on the regime. I think it is important to maintain these as strong as possible,” Payne said.

The ADDM on Monday issued a joint declaration calling on North Korea to adhere to the UN resolutions.

Lorenzana, chair of this year’s ADDM and ADDM Plus meeting, said the Philippines and other ASEAN nationals who are in South Korea will be directly affected in the event conflict erupts within the Korean Peninsula.

He added all the ASEAN member-states are also concerned on the developing security situation in the Korean Peninsula.

Lorenzana agreed with Payne’s assessment on the prevailing regional security issue, saying that the action of North Korea is illegal.

“If conflict erupts in the Korean Peninsula, aside from being near, we have a lot of problems for our Filipino nationals there and not only the Philippines. The whole other ASEAN member nations are already concerned about the dangerous, provocative behavior of North Korea and I agreed with Minister Payne that the action of North Korea is illegal,” Lorenzana said.