Philippine soldiers wave as they travel their way back from their combat duty against pro-Islamic State militants in Marawi City, the Philippines. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)Manila (VNA) – Foreign ministers ofIndonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines held an informal meeting on thesidelines of the 31st ASEAN Summit in Manila on November 12 todiscuss measures to prevent the return of extremists who attacked the southernPhilippine city of Marawi.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Philippine FMAlan Peter Cayetano and their Malaysian counterpart Anifah Aman agreed to adopton a joint action plan on counter-terrorism in a meeting scheduled to takeplace in Indonesia in January 2018.
One important aspect of the plan is to address the rootsof extremism, such as poverty, drug trafficking, crimes and social inequality.The plan also focuses on counter-terrorism measures, including stopping theflow of terrorism financing, improving intelligence-sharing, and preventingpro-terrorism content in cyberspace.
The ministers also consented to apply Indonesia’sreligious training programme in schools for Islamic people in Marawi city,which had been occupied by pro-IS militants this year
The Philippine armed forces have liberated Marawi afterthe five-month clashes against the extremists, which claimed 1,100 lives andmade about 400,000 others leave their homes.-VNA
VNA
