The Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, through their defence ministers, have decided to explore joint air patrols at a trilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the Asean-US Dialogue in Hawaii. 

“The three ministers agreed to explore joint air patrols even while their respective armed forces are finalising the parameters for maritime patrols in the pre-decided transit corridor in what the three countries consider as maritime areas of common concern,” the Department of National Defense (DND) said in a statement on Monday.

Last month, the three countries signed a document on the standard operating procedures for trilateral maritime cooperation to secure the regional waters.

The agreement to launch joint patrols at sea was reached after a spike in the number of kidnapping incidents led by Abu Sayyaf this year. 

“Primarily driven by the need to address the rising incidents of armed robbery at sea, kidnapping and piracy in the three countries’ areas of common concern, the trilateral meeting has evolved to be a platform for the defence ministers to address other emerging common concerns to include violent extremism,” the DND said.

“The phenomenon of returning fighters from the conflict in the Middle East could eventually create security challenges for the three countries, something which the ministers recognized, and hence, their decision to further get their act together,” it added. (dan)

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