OVERVIEW
Overall, countries in the East Asia and Pacific region continued to weaken
the ability of terrorist groups to operate and constrain the activities of large
terrorist organizations such as Jemaah Islamiya (JI), Jemaah Anshorut Tauhid
(JAT), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Ongoing concerns remained, however,
notably in Indonesia, where terrorist attacks on police continued, and in the
southern Philippines, where improvised explosive device (IED) attacks occurred
on several occasions in Mindanao and rogue elements of the Moro National
Liberation Front (MNLF) conducted a violent three-week siege of Zamboanga City
that killed dozens of Philippine Security Force members and displaced thousands.
The tri-border region of the Sulu Sea remained an area of concern for
cross-border weapons smuggling and kidnapping for ransom.
The Philippine government moved closer to a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) by signing three of the four annexes to the 2012 Peace Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), but terrorist incidents such as bombings and raids were more frequent in 2013 than in the years preceding the signing.
The trend of violent extremists focusing on domestic targets continued in Indonesia, with numerous attacks on police, including a series of separate high-profile attacks in which four Indonesia law enforcement officials were killed and seven were wounded. Indonesia also experienced its first suicide bombing in two years when a motorcycle-riding bomber targeted a police facility in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Challenges presented by overcrowded prisons and weaknesses in correctional facility management and security were highlighted when inmates, including convicted terrorists, escaped in a series of prison breaks.
Malaysia continued its legal reform efforts in 2013, bringing charges under the new Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act of 2012 (SOSMA). Malaysia arrested former al-Qa’ida operative Yazid Sufaat, who was the first to be charged under SOSMA. In Thailand, two Iranians behind a failed 2012 plot, in which explosives were accidentally set off that allegedly were targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, were convicted.
Australia maintained its position as a regional leader in the fight against terrorism and worked to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region’s counterterrorism capacity through a range of bilateral and regional initiatives in organizations such as ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the Pacific Island Forum. The Japanese government continued to participate in international counterterrorism efforts at multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels through the ASEAN-Japan Counterterrorism meeting and the Japan-China Counterterrorism Consultations.
PHILIPPINES
Overview: The Philippines maintained its strong counterterrorism cooperation with the United States. The ability of terrorist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jemaah Islamiya (JI), and the Communist People’s Party/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA), to conduct terrorist activities inside the Philippines remained constrained. Terrorist group actions included criminal activities designed to generate revenue for self-sustainment, such as kidnapping for ransom or extortion, in addition to bombings for hire. In addition, members of these groups were suspected to have carried out bombings against government, public, and private facilities, primarily in the central and western areas of Mindanao; while others were linked to extortion operations in other parts of the country. Terrorist groups in the southern Philippines actively conducted bomb-making training, small-scale shootings, and ambushes.
The Government of the Philippines continued to implement its 2011–2016 Internal Peace and Security Plan that calls for the transition of internal security functions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The increasing role and capability of the police to maintain internal security in conflict-affected areas will permit the AFP to shift its focus to enhancing the country's maritime security and territorial defense capabilities. To date, however, this transition has been slow and ineffective.
In 2013 the peace panels of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed three of four annexes to the 2012 Peace Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), which lays out a roadmap to a comprehensive peace agreement and calls for the creation of a new, autonomous Bangsamoro entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). However, during the year, rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) conducted a three-week violent siege of Zamboanga City, a major city in the southern Philippines, killing dozens of Philippine security forces members and displacing thousands of civilians. Also, a number of smaller armed groups in Mindanao conducted bombings, raids, and kidnapping for ransom with increased frequency compared to the years before the MILF signed the FAB.
2013 Terrorist Incidents: High-profile terrorist incidents included:
Despite those legislative efforts, an under-resourced and understaffed law enforcement and judicial system coupled with widespread official corruption resulted in limited domestic investigations, unexecuted arrest warrants, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of cases. Philippine investigators and prosecutors lacked necessary tools to build strong cases such as clear processes for requesting judicially authorized interception of terrorist communications, entering into plea bargains with key witnesses, and seizing assets of those suspected in benefiting from terrorism.
The United States continued to work with the Government of the Philippines to investigate subjects associated with the development and operations of a JI training camp in the southern Philippines. The Government of the Philippines has arrested multiple persons with suspected ties to ASG and JI.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) maintains legal responsibility for ensuring peace and security throughout the county, including arresting terrorists and conducting terrorism investigations. In some of the conflict-affected areas, the PNP has relied upon the Armed Forces of the Philippines to conduct counterterrorism operations. The creation of the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) has helped to strengthen law enforcement counterterrorism capabilities; however, the SAF remains a relatively small unit. The SAF has received training through multiple sources including the Joint Special Operations Task Forces – Philippines, and has been designated as a unit that will be given communications equipment through the U.S. Global Security Contingency Fund.
The Philippines remained an important partner in the U.S. Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program, which provided extensive tactical training to PNP officers, including SAF members, to support the transition in the southern Philippines from military to civilian counterterrorism authority. ATA assistance included instruction in areas such as crisis response, hostage negotiation, and explosive ordnance disposal training. The ATA program has also focused on building PNP capacity to conduct counterterrorism-related investigations, including cyber investigations.
The Philippines continued to improve the security of its passports. Beginning in 2007, the Philippines started to issue machine readable passports. Three million non-machine readable passports remained in circulation at year’s end, the last of which expired in 2013. Phase one of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is complete, and the system has been installed at the NBI’s headquarters. Phase one was the build-out of the physical AFIS facility at NBI HQ and the digitization of 850,000 fingerprint records.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Philippines is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. The Philippines has improved its anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance (AML/CFT) regime. Republic Act No. 10365, which further amended the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, was signed into law on February 15, and took effect on March 7. It expanded the list of predicate crimes under the Philippines’ anti-money laundering regime to include the financing of terrorism (which was made a stand-alone crime under Republic Act No. 10168 – “The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012”). In June, the FATF recognized the progress that the Philippines has made in improving its AML/CFT regime but noted that the country needed to continue to work on implementing regulations for the casino sector. The country is extremely advanced in the use of cellphones for funds transfer and receives considerable funds from abroad via remittances. Along with trade-based money laundering, these pose possible vulnerabilities for exploitation by illicit actors.
Thus far, the Anti-Money Laundering Council has been able to identify, obtain freeze orders, and obtain forfeiture judgments and writs of execution for bank deposits and real estate assets linked to the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement – both listed on the UN 1267/1989 Sanctions List – with a total estimated value of more than US $237,000.
Non-profit organizations are not covered institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended. There is no single supervisory authority for entities in the non-profit sector. Monitoring is weak due to insufficient coordination and limited resources of regulatory bodies.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: The Philippines participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and supported the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Counterterrorism. Through U.S.-sponsored antiterrorism training, the PNP developed contacts with law enforcement agencies in Indonesia and Malaysia. Although the Philippines is not a member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), Philippine officials regularly attend GCTF-organized events.
Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The Philippine government continued its counter-radicalization program: Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or PAMANA (Resilient Communities in Conflict Affected Communities). The Philippines government worked with the GCTF in an effort to apply the Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders.
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224821.htm
The Philippine government moved closer to a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) by signing three of the four annexes to the 2012 Peace Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), but terrorist incidents such as bombings and raids were more frequent in 2013 than in the years preceding the signing.
The trend of violent extremists focusing on domestic targets continued in Indonesia, with numerous attacks on police, including a series of separate high-profile attacks in which four Indonesia law enforcement officials were killed and seven were wounded. Indonesia also experienced its first suicide bombing in two years when a motorcycle-riding bomber targeted a police facility in Poso, Central Sulawesi. Challenges presented by overcrowded prisons and weaknesses in correctional facility management and security were highlighted when inmates, including convicted terrorists, escaped in a series of prison breaks.
Malaysia continued its legal reform efforts in 2013, bringing charges under the new Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act of 2012 (SOSMA). Malaysia arrested former al-Qa’ida operative Yazid Sufaat, who was the first to be charged under SOSMA. In Thailand, two Iranians behind a failed 2012 plot, in which explosives were accidentally set off that allegedly were targeting Israeli diplomats in Bangkok, were convicted.
Australia maintained its position as a regional leader in the fight against terrorism and worked to strengthen the Asia-Pacific region’s counterterrorism capacity through a range of bilateral and regional initiatives in organizations such as ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum, and the Pacific Island Forum. The Japanese government continued to participate in international counterterrorism efforts at multilateral, regional, and bilateral levels through the ASEAN-Japan Counterterrorism meeting and the Japan-China Counterterrorism Consultations.
PHILIPPINES
Overview: The Philippines maintained its strong counterterrorism cooperation with the United States. The ability of terrorist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), Jemaah Islamiya (JI), and the Communist People’s Party/New People’s Army (CPP/NPA), to conduct terrorist activities inside the Philippines remained constrained. Terrorist group actions included criminal activities designed to generate revenue for self-sustainment, such as kidnapping for ransom or extortion, in addition to bombings for hire. In addition, members of these groups were suspected to have carried out bombings against government, public, and private facilities, primarily in the central and western areas of Mindanao; while others were linked to extortion operations in other parts of the country. Terrorist groups in the southern Philippines actively conducted bomb-making training, small-scale shootings, and ambushes.
The Government of the Philippines continued to implement its 2011–2016 Internal Peace and Security Plan that calls for the transition of internal security functions from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to the Philippine National Police (PNP). The increasing role and capability of the police to maintain internal security in conflict-affected areas will permit the AFP to shift its focus to enhancing the country's maritime security and territorial defense capabilities. To date, however, this transition has been slow and ineffective.
In 2013 the peace panels of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed three of four annexes to the 2012 Peace Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), which lays out a roadmap to a comprehensive peace agreement and calls for the creation of a new, autonomous Bangsamoro entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). However, during the year, rogue elements of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) conducted a three-week violent siege of Zamboanga City, a major city in the southern Philippines, killing dozens of Philippine security forces members and displacing thousands of civilians. Also, a number of smaller armed groups in Mindanao conducted bombings, raids, and kidnapping for ransom with increased frequency compared to the years before the MILF signed the FAB.
2013 Terrorist Incidents: High-profile terrorist incidents included:
- On January 21, a bicycle-borne improvised explosive device (IED) at Lligan City injured10 people.
- On February 4, an IED placed on a parked motorcycle exploded in front of a restaurant at Tubod Lanao del Norte, resulting in five wounded.
- On May 25, ASG militants were involved in an hour-long gun battle near Patikul, Sulu, which killed seven Philippine Marines and injured nine; and killed five ASG and injured 10.
- On June 22, ASG kidnapped two sisters who were filming a documentary on Sulu. They were being held in Sulu at year’s end.
- On July 26, Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao (KIM) – one of several emerging small violent extremist groups in Mindanao called the Black Flag Movement – was blamed for conducting an IED attack in Cagayan de Oro (CDO) at the Kyla's Bistro in the Limketkai Commercial Center, which killed six and injured more than 40. Most victims were medical practitioners and pharmaceutical sales representatives in CDO for a national medical convention. Components recovered from post-blast investigation indicated a command-detonated IED concealed in a backpack.
- On August 5, a vehicle-borne IED (VBIED) detonated on a main street near the center of Cotabato City, killing eight and injuring 34. The VBIED detonated when the Cotabato City Mayor's bullet-proof SUV neared the site. The Mayor was not in the vehicle, but the City Administrator was. A large fire damaged several buildings and vehicles nearby.
- On September 9, approximately 250 members of MNLF seized several villages and numerous hostages throughout Zamboanga City in Mindanao. The siege lasted three weeks, leading to the deaths of dozens of Philippines Security Forces (PSF) members and 180 MNLF, and destroyed 344,400 square meters of urban space, resulting in over 100,000 evacuees, several thousand of whom remained homeless at year’s end.
- On September 16, two IEDs detonated in cinemas at two different malls in Davao City. Five people were injured. At year’s end, the Philippine government had not identified who was responsible.
- On September 23, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) attacked Mlang village in North Cotabato, taking more than 20 civilians hostages at Malingaw Elementary School. The attack resulted in the killing of two individuals and displaced more than 2,000.
Despite those legislative efforts, an under-resourced and understaffed law enforcement and judicial system coupled with widespread official corruption resulted in limited domestic investigations, unexecuted arrest warrants, few prosecutions, and lengthy trials of cases. Philippine investigators and prosecutors lacked necessary tools to build strong cases such as clear processes for requesting judicially authorized interception of terrorist communications, entering into plea bargains with key witnesses, and seizing assets of those suspected in benefiting from terrorism.
The United States continued to work with the Government of the Philippines to investigate subjects associated with the development and operations of a JI training camp in the southern Philippines. The Government of the Philippines has arrested multiple persons with suspected ties to ASG and JI.
- On June 16, the PNP arrested five suspected ASG members and seized numerous IED-making components.
- On July 23, a trial commenced in Cebu City against two members of the MNLF, Ronnie Jammang and Marlon Jilhano, for the IED attack on a U.S. convoy in Kagay, Jolo, in 2009, which killed two U.S. Servicemen and one Philippine Marine. The trial was subsequently postponed for the remainder of 2013 because of a major earthquake that damaged Cebu’s Hall of Justice.
- On November 5, Jabide Abdul, a leader of the al-Khobat Group, which the PNP reports had ties with JI and is believed to be responsible for several bomb attacks in Central Mindanao, was arrested by Sultan Kudarat. Abdul was the subject of several arrest warrants for murder, destruction of property, and related crimes.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) maintains legal responsibility for ensuring peace and security throughout the county, including arresting terrorists and conducting terrorism investigations. In some of the conflict-affected areas, the PNP has relied upon the Armed Forces of the Philippines to conduct counterterrorism operations. The creation of the PNP Special Action Force (SAF) has helped to strengthen law enforcement counterterrorism capabilities; however, the SAF remains a relatively small unit. The SAF has received training through multiple sources including the Joint Special Operations Task Forces – Philippines, and has been designated as a unit that will be given communications equipment through the U.S. Global Security Contingency Fund.
The Philippines remained an important partner in the U.S. Department of State’s Antiterrorism Assistance (ATA) program, which provided extensive tactical training to PNP officers, including SAF members, to support the transition in the southern Philippines from military to civilian counterterrorism authority. ATA assistance included instruction in areas such as crisis response, hostage negotiation, and explosive ordnance disposal training. The ATA program has also focused on building PNP capacity to conduct counterterrorism-related investigations, including cyber investigations.
The Philippines continued to improve the security of its passports. Beginning in 2007, the Philippines started to issue machine readable passports. Three million non-machine readable passports remained in circulation at year’s end, the last of which expired in 2013. Phase one of the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) is complete, and the system has been installed at the NBI’s headquarters. Phase one was the build-out of the physical AFIS facility at NBI HQ and the digitization of 850,000 fingerprint records.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: The Philippines is a member of the Asia/Pacific Group (APG) on Money Laundering, a Financial Action Task Force-style regional body. The Philippines has improved its anti-money laundering/counterterrorist finance (AML/CFT) regime. Republic Act No. 10365, which further amended the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, was signed into law on February 15, and took effect on March 7. It expanded the list of predicate crimes under the Philippines’ anti-money laundering regime to include the financing of terrorism (which was made a stand-alone crime under Republic Act No. 10168 – “The Terrorism Financing Prevention and Suppression Act of 2012”). In June, the FATF recognized the progress that the Philippines has made in improving its AML/CFT regime but noted that the country needed to continue to work on implementing regulations for the casino sector. The country is extremely advanced in the use of cellphones for funds transfer and receives considerable funds from abroad via remittances. Along with trade-based money laundering, these pose possible vulnerabilities for exploitation by illicit actors.
Thus far, the Anti-Money Laundering Council has been able to identify, obtain freeze orders, and obtain forfeiture judgments and writs of execution for bank deposits and real estate assets linked to the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement – both listed on the UN 1267/1989 Sanctions List – with a total estimated value of more than US $237,000.
Non-profit organizations are not covered institutions under the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended. There is no single supervisory authority for entities in the non-profit sector. Monitoring is weak due to insufficient coordination and limited resources of regulatory bodies.
For further information on money laundering and financial crimes, see the 2014 International Narcotics Control Strategy Report (INCSR), Volume 2, Money Laundering and Financial Crimes: http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/nrcrpt/index.htm.
Regional and International Cooperation: The Philippines participated in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) and supported the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Counterterrorism. Through U.S.-sponsored antiterrorism training, the PNP developed contacts with law enforcement agencies in Indonesia and Malaysia. Although the Philippines is not a member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), Philippine officials regularly attend GCTF-organized events.
Countering Radicalization to Violence and Violent Extremism: The Philippine government continued its counter-radicalization program: Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan or PAMANA (Resilient Communities in Conflict Affected Communities). The Philippines government worked with the GCTF in an effort to apply the Rome Memorandum on Good Practices for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Violent Extremist Offenders.
http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224821.htm
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