October 10, 2003, The Philippine Star, Australia Says RP Under Greatest JI Threat,

October 10, 2003, The Philippine Star, Australia Says RP Under Greatest JI Threat, 

CANBERA, The Philippines faces the greatest threat of an attack by the Southeast Asian terror network Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), though the entire region remains at risk, Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill told a security conference here yesterday.

"We have no indications that the ongoing arrests of JI members across the region have seriously damaged JI's command and control. JI has been able to continue planning and executing terrorist attacks despite the arrest of over 200 members, including some of its most senior operatives, since 2001," Hill told the Royal United Services Institute conference.

While Australia and Southeast Asia are still targets for Jemaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda-linked group would likely concentrate its activities in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, the three countries where it was strongest, he said.

However, the organization "could turn its attention more resolutely" to attacks in the Philippines, Hill said.

"Manila is probably the most target-rich environment in Southeast Asia in terms of Western-style clubs, discos, hotels and symbols of Western culture such as multinational businesses and fast-food outlets," he said.

He added that "attacking soft targets in a predominantly Christian area fits with JI's modus operandi and would be appealing to it."

Hill warned that JI will strengthen its links with local terror groups — particularly the Abu Sayyaf and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — to intensify the terrorist attacks across the region.

He pointed out that the Southeast Asian terror network will continue to focus on training its partners in order to carry out attacks, which are likely to be successful despite efforts of different governments to disrupt their activities.

The JI has been blamed for a string of terrorist strikes in Southeast Asia including the Oct. 12, 2002 bombings in Bali that killed 202 people and the attack on the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta in August where 12 people died.

Hill said the group would likely rely on its "proven method" of attack by improvised bombs placed in cars or trucks, but could try other tactics like suicide bombers.

Though no major incident involving suicide bombings have been reported in Southeast Asia, he said it remains a possibility.

Hill added the network still has several highly trained operatives, mostly Indonesians and Malaysians, who can carry out the bombings or serve as field commanders. These operatives were trained in bomb-making and other skills in al-Qaeda mujahedin camps in Afghanistan.

He warned that major terrorist attacks and threats of these attacks will undermine the economic confidence of affected countries in the short term.

"As they continue to recover from the 1998 regional economic crisis, countries in Southeast Asia remain especially vulnerable," Hill said.

The Australian defense chief said the al-Qaeda has identified Australia as a legitimate target and "the recently convicted Bali bombers have described Australia as (being) in the enemy camp."

He said his government will further strengthen its counter-terrorism training exercises with the Philippines, which has been going on for a decade.

Hill also said the Australian aid program will continue to support multilateral peace building, conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery efforts in Mindanao.

"This assistance will be complemented by bilateral assistance in health, education and rural development for the poorest regions in Mindanao. These efforts improve local resilience in the face of the terrorist threat," he said.

'Nothing New'

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) dismissed Hill’s warning as nothing new.

"This is not the first time that we heard the JI will be (hitting) soft targets in Metro Manila," AFP public information chief Lt. Col. Daniel Lucero said, citing the Dec. 30, 2000 bombings orchestrated by escaped Indonesian terrorist Fathur Rohman al-Ghozi that left 22 people dead and over a hundred others wounded.

He added that the AFP will "deny and prevent" the JI from conducting terror attacks in Manila.

Lucero assured the public that the AFP is not taking the threat of possible terror attacks in stride.

"With Al-Ghozi on the loose, we presume he has already contacted some of his companions outside the Philippines so we are very concerned about the movements of JI (operatives) here in the Philippines," he said.

Lucero said the AFP has identified some of the JI’s "soft targets," such as foreign embassies, residences of members of the diplomatic corps, malls, clubs and hotels.

The military’'s measures to counter possible terrorist attacks have been in place since last year and security procedures have been upgraded after it was established that the JI was already operating in the country, he added.

Lucero clarified that the military has yet to validate reports it received that alleged JI members are receiving military training in central Mindanao.

"We've been receiving reports but as of the moment, we will still have to catch a JI member who was trained in Central Mindanao to really corroborate earlier reports," he said.

Indons Coping With Armed Separatists

However, Indonesia’s security chief told the same conference his country remains concerned about terrorism but its key security priority is dealing with armed separatists.

Speaking after Hill, Indonesia's Security Minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said his nation remained concerned about terrorism but was trying to cope with communal conflict in the sprawling archipelago and increased activity by armed separatists.

"Our top national security priority is fighting armed separatisms in Indonesia and here the most serious military threats came from the armed rebels in Aceh," he said. "We are also facing armed separatism in the province of Papua."

Yudhoyono said there had been a debate in Indonesia about whether terrorism even existed in the country. Though the country was more united over the existence of terrorists after the bombing on Aug. 5 of the JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta that killed 12 people, there was still debate about the extent of international and domestic terrorists.

Yudhoyono said another priority for Jakarta would be to maintain law and order throughout the country in the run-up to elections next year. — AP, Marvin Sy, Jaime Laude