Philippines reaches out to Indonesia as ISIS regroups
As ISIS-inspired terror groups begin to recruit online in Southeast Asia, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sought the help of Indonesia to implement an improved maritime security plan and to reintroduce Islamic values to Mindanao to counter the rise of extremism.
Duterte arranged an exploratory meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi in Davao after receiving reports that foreign and local terrorists continue to enter and exit the country despite tightened Indonesia-Philippine-Malaysia maritime patrols.
Indonesia’s MoD earlier provided intelligence that around 1,200 ISIS-inspired militants are operating throughout the Philippines, while a think tank in Singapore reported that a hidden
Our news & analysis is now part of Defence Insight®
A Basic-level or higher Defence Insight subscription is now required to view this content.
More from Defence Notes
-
Canada seeks to strengthen industrial ties with the US on classified programmes
Ottawa explores expanding defence-industrial cooperation with Washington into sensitive programmes, an approach that could reshape NORAD modernisation, strengthen North American supply chains and create new opportunities for defence contractors.
-
NATO signs agreements worth billions of dollars on missiles, air defence and aircraft
Announcements on aircraft deals and agreements for trans-alliance cooperation to boost the production and purchase of weapons and equipment were key takeaways from this week’s NATO summit.
-
Ukraine experience forces rethink of counter-UAS doctrine
A panel session at Eurosatory 2026 brought together industry, academia and the French armed forces to assess how Ukraine’s battlefield reality is reshaping counter-UAS (CUAS) technology, air defence doctrine and Western procurement priorities.
-
Nuclear costs crowd out key defence priorities in UK investment plan, say SDR authors
The UK government’s Defence Investment Plan has been criticised by the authors of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) 2025 which formed the basis of the plan. The SDR’s external reviewers told the country’s defence committee how the plan misses the mark.