Nevertheless, the Abu Sayyaf is considered a terrorist organisation by the Philippines and the United Nations as well. It has carried out deadly bombings, kidnappings for ransom, beheading, piracy and extortion in the region.
The accord, reached on Monday, calls for possible co-ordinated sea and air patrols to stop an alarming wave of cross-border kidnappings by Abu Sayyaf and other extremists so far operating apparently with impunity, according to a ABC report.
The template for the accord would be based on the anti-piracy actions taken by Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand in the Malacca Straits. The actions by the four countries have reduced piracy in the Straits to zero so far this year.
Outgoing Philippine Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin told the Associated Press by telephone the accord called for the establishment of databases on extremists, including on Abu Sayaff, and joint military command posts in designated areas. “The aim is to send a warning or information to the side which may face an imminent attack or to us when kidnap victims are about to be brought in,” he said.
Gazmin was joined at the Manila meet by retired army Major Delfin Lorenzana, his designated successor. It was Gazmin who disclosed that the accord would have to await Duterte’s consent on border security arrangements.
The Manila meet follows one by Foreign Ministers in Jakarta last month, called by Indonesia, to discuss concerns that Abu Sayaff and other extremists were continuing their activities despite assurances by Malaysia and the Philippines that security would be tightened.
“The ministers raised concern over the recent incidents of kidnappings and armed robbery at sea in the maritime areas of common concern,” said the defense chiefs, who included Hishammuddin Hussein and Ryamizard Ryacudu of Indonesia, in the joint statement in Manila.
It reaffirmed the need and collective responsibility of the countries to address such threats.
The statement, according to The Diplomat, urged the armed forces and relevant agencies in the three countries to speed up the formalization of standard operating procedures (SOP) to facilitate co-ordinated action against the extremists.
It was not immediately clear how territorial and maritime disputes in the region would affect the SOP.