I

ndonesia is ready to assist the Philippine government in the aftermath of the army’s five-month siege of Marawi city, held by local terrorists, which cost numerous lives and caused massive destruction and the displacement of residents.

The pledge was made by Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi during an informal trilateral meeting between the
foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines on Sunday.

“We said that even though Marawi has been liberated, that does not mean that the threat is over. For this reason, we must continue to increase cooperation in countering terrorism,” Retno told reporters in Manila late on Sunday.

She went on to convey to her Philippine host Alan Peter Cayetano that Indonesia stands ready to help with reconstruction efforts should the need arise.

Cayetano reportedly said in response that efforts were underway to provide education in the southern half of the country, hinting at possible avenues of cooperation.

“We told them we are ready for exchanges of Muslim ulema and that we are more than willing to share our experiences in developing a curriculum in madrassa,” Retno said.

He also conveyed the need for assistance in the healing of women and children who were traumatized by the siege, she added.

Pro-Islamic State (IS) gunmen occupied parts of Marawi on May 23 following a foiled attempt by security forces to arrest the so-called “emir of Southeast Asia,” Isnilon Hapilon, authorities have said.

After that, the battle resulted in more than 1,000 deaths and the displacement of 400,000 Marawi residents. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the Lanao del Sur province on Mindanao Island to suppress the militant threat.

The insurgents long withstood a relentless United States-backed bombing campaign and intense ground battles with government troops that left large parts of the city in ruins.

Retno said that by considering the increasing complexity of security challenges, including in preventing the recurrence of a Marawi situation, Indonesia has taken the initiative of drafting a plan of action (PoA) and road map that would offer concrete cooperation activities for the three partners.

The concepts would be discussed in detail and adopted in the next trilateral meeting in Indonesia, scheduled for early 2018, Retno revealed. However, she said that some of the items of cooperation were already implemented in July.

In November, the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation (JCLEC) organized a dialogue about countering violent extremism and a trilateral roundtable on a legal framework for countering terrorism was held in Manila.

In July, Indonesia hosted a meeting with the Philippines and four other countries in Manado, North Sulawesi. It focused on sharing best practices in issues related to terrorism, from intelligence sharing to deradicalization programs.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s interim trilateral meeting in Manila was a follow-up of a meeting in June when security chiefs, the top brass and top diplomats of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines gathered to expand cooperation on countering terrorism and violent extremism.

The cooperation mechanism was established to increase the effectiveness of the handling of transnational organized crimes in the Sulu-Sabah-Sulawesi triangle, with a specific focus on terrorism. It started out with coordinated border patrols by the three neighbors, which came about because of the high frequency of kidnappings by armed rebel groups in the southern Philippines.

Last week, Malaysia launched a trilateral air patrol of the tri-border area to complement the trilateral maritime patrol. Each country conducts air patrols for one-month periods.