'500 US soldiers in Phl to fight Abu Sayyaf, JI'

MANILA, Philippines - The United States government has deployed 500 soldiers to help the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) wipe out Abu Sayyaf bandits in Mindanao, a high-ranking US military official disclosed.

In a press briefing at the sidelines of the recently concluded Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, US Pacific Command Admiral Robert Willard also expressed belief that operations of the Muslim extremist group have been contained.

Willard said they have been assisting the Philippine military for the “last seven years,” or since 2004 during the term of former President, now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. 

“We have been working with the AFP in their support against specifically the Abu Sayyaf group and Jemaah Islamiyah for seven years. And we believe that by and large, we have achieved the containment of those particular groups,” he said.

The Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah “are and were affiliates” of the al-Qaeda international terrorist network.

Under the 1987 Constitution, foreign intervention in military operations is prohibited.

“We’ve got 500 special operators there now, and at the point in time when we believe that the extremist organizations themselves are sufficiently contained, then our government and the government of the Philippines may transition to a longer-term effort,” Willard said.

This is mainly because both countries have to “set the conditions (on) the longer term, permanent conditions to minimize or eliminate the prospects that either of those extremist organizations could re-emerge to become a threat to the Philippines and/or a threat to the (Asian) region and the US,” he said.

The Philippines’ perennial problem with the Abu Sayyaf, which has been involved in ransom kidnappings, has been solved to a large degree, Willard said.

“That has been, by and large, curtailed. We continue to contain them in that regard so that they don’t grow into… a more significant threat to the region. And we may be at a point where we can work on a transition to a next phase of operations in the Philippines,” he said.

“They (Abu Sayyaf) have pretty much quelled their extremist efforts with the exception of ongoing criminal activity at a lesser level that continues to occur,” he said. 

Willard said the purpose of their engagement is “to set the conditions there (Philippines) that minimize any prospects of emerging violent extremism, or violent extremist organizations – these two (Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah) in particular.” 

Willard’s statements were provided by the Office of the Press Secretary in the White House to journalists who covered the APEC leaders’ summit.