Marawi won’t be IS hub, Philippines assures US

MANILA: There is no reason to fear that Marawi City would become an enclave of the Islamic State (IS) group in South-East Asia as the Philippine military has nipped this plan in the bud, Malacanang said in response to concerns expressed by US senators.

US lawmakers, including senators from President Donald Trumps Republican Party, have broached the idea of expanding US assistance to the Philippines to defeat the terrorists who laid siege to Marawi and prevent IS from establishing a base in South-East Asia.

“At this stage, I suppose we’ll have to take the position that it’s unlikely for Marawi to become a new hub for IS fighters.

“The Philippine military has already preempted the Maute group from establishing a province in Marawi,” presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said on Tuesday.

As for the suggestion to expand the United States’ role in the fighting in Marawi, Abella said Malacanang would go by what was allowed by law.

The United States, at the request of the Philippine military, has been providing technical aid to the Marawi campaign, including aerial surveillance to pinpoint the location of IS-inspired terrorists holed up in the city.

Asked if the United States’ role in the conflict meant Philippine-US relations were improving, Abella said the mechanism for the United States to help the Philippine military had always been in place.

He also said President Rodrigo Duterte had accepted the situation at this stage.

Duterte had said earlier that he was not aware that the United States was helping the Philippine military in the Marawi conflict, but was nevertheless grateful for the assistance.

The US military’s assistance in Marawi came months after Duterte lashed out at the nation for criticising his bloody war on drugs and distanced the Philippines from its longest ally by saying he wanted to cut economic and military ties with Washington.

Duterte has also said he wants all foreign troops out of the Philippines in two years.

The fighting between government forces and terrorists from the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups, which led to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao on May 23, has been raging for nearly a month and led to the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.