Duterte pushes intl’l cooperation vs drugs.

NEW DELHI – President Duterte wants members of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) to strengthen their defense cooperation to address terrorism, piracy and other threats in the region.

During his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Wednesday, the President said the region is facing threats from drug-funded terrorists and pirates operating in the Indo-Pacific route.

“Aside from the political and the business, the Philippine President emphasized that ASEAN in addition to being an economic body must also cooperate even militarily in combating the threat of modern-day terrorism,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing yesterday.

“Although the Philippine President used the term ‘terrorism,’ he also emphasized that there was a threat to what is known as the Indo-Pacific navigation route pertaining to the threat of piracy that ASEAN countries must cooperate militarily to combat this form of terrorism,” Roque said.

He also thanked Modi for supporting the rebuilding efforts in Marawi, which was ravaged by the clashes between government forces and Islamic State-inspired militants last year.

Duterte and Modi also agreed to expand bilateral ties in all fronts during their meeting, which lasted for about an hour.

In a Twitter post, Modi said a strong relationship between his country and the Philippines would benefit the region.

Military equipment from India

Duterte also informed Modi that the Philippines is keen on buying defense equipment from India.

“There was a commitment, in fact, for the Philippines to purchase Indian military hardware,” Roque said.

“The Prime Minister actually said that they have expertise in ships and other military hardware. President Duterte just manifested in the same way that he has decided to purchase weapons from China and Russia that he will also consider purchasing Indian weapons,” he added.

Intelligence pact

Meanwhile, six Southeast Asian nations yesterday launched an intelligence pact aimed at combating Islamist militants and improving cooperation on security threats, overcoming what analysts described as a high level of distrust.

Under the “Our Eyes” initiative, senior defense officials will meet every two weeks to swap information on militant groups and develop a common database of violent extremists.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Brunei signed up to the pact.

The intelligence sharing arrangement comes after insurgents aligned to Islamic State laid siege to Marawi last year.

Some of the foreign fighters are believed to have travelled to Marawi via the porous maritime borders of the Sulu Sea, next to Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

“This is something that seems so simple, but the effect is extraordinary,” said Indonesian Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu at the “soft launch” in Bali.

Ryacudu said intelligence sharing would help ensure another incident like Marawi did not occur and prevent the region from “becoming like the Middle East.”

He added that the intelligence sharing was “specifically for (combating) terrorism and radicalism.”