Malaysia supports the Philippines in fight against militant groups - Hishammuddin

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein today conveyed Malaysia's support for the Philippines in its fight against militant groups related to Daish at Marawi City in Mindanao, to his counterpart here, Philippine Secretary of Defence, Delfin Negrillo Lorenzana.

He conveyed the support to Lorenzana during a meeting between them at the 6th Division Infantry here and emphasised that Malaysia viewed the incident in Marawi City seriously and would not compromise such violence and threat.

"Malaysia will never bow to violence but instead, Malaysia together with ASEAN countries were always prepared to cooperate and give the necessary assistance to the Philippines to ensure the Daish does not have a foothold in making Southern Mindanao as a Daish administration centre," he told a joint press conference after the meeting.

Also present at the meeting were Malaysian Armed Force Chief Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor, Army Chief Datuk Seri Zulkiple Kassim, Military Intelligence Director Datuk Abdul Hadi Hussin, Philippine Armed Forces Chief Gen Eduardo Ano, Chief of Army Lt Gen Glorioso Miranda, Chief of Air Force Lt Gen Edgar Restor Fallorina and Chief of Navy, Vice-Admiral Ronald Joseph Mercado.

According to Hishammuddin, Malaysia shared the Philippine Government's concern on the militant threat and discussed in detail with Lorenzana over the militant source of funding as well as group ideology.

"This is a phenomena that we need to counter together. On the Malaysian part, we need to work closely with intelligence sharing...we must be very specific about the source of funding, we must also be specific where they (militant fighters) are coming from.

"As you know, what is unfolding here not only involves Malaysians but also Indonesians and some from the Middle East.

"So, this is a global phenomena. What is more important for us is to send a message together today. We want to send a clear message to Daish that they will not have a foothold in our region...within our powers, we are determined to ensure that whatever they try to do, they will never have a foothold. We will face them together, " he said.

On his opinion on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in fighting against militant groups that might be trying to disturb the peace process in Mindanao, Hishammuddin said: "Do not allow anyone to hijack our bigger objective, that is peace."

Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said he planned to meet his counterparts in Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia in the near future to discuss the best strategy and approach to fight the Daish group in this region.

-- BERNAMA