Japan-Asean Anti-terrorism meet in Cebu; Military Clash with Abu Sayyaf al Qaeda linked kills 11 in Basilan

A platoon of the Philippine Marines marches in this file Photo.  —File Photo by Reuters

Philippine forces clashed with Muslim extremists on a southern island Thursday (July 26, 2012), leaving seven soldiers and four militants dead, the military said.

Elite rangers battled members of the al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group on the troubled southern island of Basilan, with three soldiers and two insurgents also wounded in the clash.

“Firefight is ongoing as of this report,” the military statement said.

It was the latest in a series of deadly clashes in the heavily-forested island of Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.

The group was founded in the 1990s with seed money from al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Cebu meet tackles Japan-Asean cooperation to fight terrorism

A $4.1 billion fund is being proposed for anti-terrorism cooperation between Japan and Southeast Asian nations.

“There should be mutual cooperation in the area of combating terrorism.” said Tomatsu Shinotsuka of the Japanese Foreign Ministry during the 7th Asean-Japan counter-terrorism dialogue at the Marco Polo Plaza Hotel yesterday.

The dialogue will give the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Japan, a major economic player in the region a chance to discuss the substantive progress, achievement and implementation of useful projects in fighting counter-terrorism.

“Terrorism is a common threat not only in Asia but also to the world as a whole.” said Shinotsuka.

“There should be speed of cooperation and mutual trust. We will take up various aspects of cooperation between Japan and the Asean,” Shinotsuka added.

Undersectary Nabil Tan said the anti-terrorism cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and Japan will be boosted by the $4.1 billion Japan-Asean Integration Fund (JAIF).

Tan said the counter-terrorism dialogue is a global undertaking aimed at fostering closer collaboration and exchange of information among the ten ASEAN member states – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa, Jr. who also chairs the Philippine Anti-Terrorism Council, said border security is necessary to ensure safety in the country. Ochoa said this is on top of the country’s anti-terrorism policy.

“Effective law enforcement, strong institutional mechanisms and addressing social problems like poverty and education form the core of the country’s three-point agenda to fight counter-terrorism,” Ochoa said.

For the institutional mechanisms, Ochoa said the amendments of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the Human Security Act is important for it to prevent and suppress terrorist financing and to put in check terrorism activities in the country.

Abu Sayyaf in Southern Philippines, and Qaeda link groups Jemaah Islamiyah of Indonesia operating in Malaysia and Southern Thailand remains a threat in the troubled area of the ASEAN region.

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The next ASEAN tiger cited by Asia Inc & Business leader could be the Philippines

The Philippines has a most unique economy in the world which is highly dependent on domestic consumption that drives their economy that could be hardly hit for any possible global economic recession. Inspite of rich resources, Philippines did not rely on exports to drive a better and fast forward economy.

The Philippines now tagged with fresh opportunities in Asia, boosting and high grades gold mining, boosting of oil and gas exploration,  good political leader,  revived confidence from global investors and now named as to be Asia’s next tiger economy, potentially regaining the glory lost decades ago, according to a visiting regional business leader from Brunei.

Dato Timothy Ong, a leading Brunei businessman who founded and now chairs regional dialogue platform Asia Inc. Forum, said in a press briefing on last September 26, 2011 that he has seen signs that the Philippines could return to its goal of being the next Asian tiger despite staying at the bottom half of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in terms of economic performance for years.

Ong is also the convener of ASEAN 100 Leadership Forum, which will be hosted by the city of Makati on Sept. 28-29, 2011 at the Makati Shangri-La. This year’s ASEAN meet aims to foster insightful and intelligent discussions on the future of ASEAN and how the region can emerge as one of the world’s significant economic blocs.

According to Dato Timothy  Ong, the Philippines can join the ranks of Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, the so-called Asian “tiger” economies or newly industrializing countries. He cited five reasons why the country, though a “dark horse,” or a sick man in Asia had the makings of the next move to be the next “tiger.”

The Chair of the regional dialogue platform Asia Inc. Forum cited 5 following reasons why the Philippines could be the next ASEAN Tiger as:

1.      The new leadership under President Aquino has promised to weed out corruption in the country, which has been creating a lot of optimism. It’s widely perceived that the high level of corruption in the country has driven up the cost of doing business.

 

2.      Mr. Ong said that the Philippines’ would be vast pool of hardworking professionals and skilled manpower, many of whom have been deployed across the globe. “With this wealth of human resources, it’s important to ask then why the Philippines aren’t more successful economically,” he said. Many countries had been dependent on Filipino Professionals and skilled workers to drive their economy like for example banning the Filipino to work in Taiwan will paralyze the Taiwan’s economy. Banning the Filipino to work in the Middle-east might paralyze their economy. Deporting Filipinos in (North Borneo) Sabah might paralyze the Sabah’s economy which the world knew how important the human resources are.  The continues development in the other north Asian countries had been dependent on Filipino skilled workers like for example the Billion Dollar projects of Korea’s builder Hyundai Engineering in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan which been dependent on Overseas Filipino Workers as highly skilled which the builder could not outsource such kinds from the local man power pool in the 2 ‘stan countries. Many Leading fortune 200 companies in the world are talents hungry but the Philippines have vast and awashing man power pool. Many countries take advantage of Filipinos for not just for cheap labor but also trustworthy multi-tasker and English speaker that could compete globally.

 

3.      The third factor would be the Philippines’ “centers of excellence,” Ong said, noting that the country has become a competitive hub for business process outsourcing. He likened the Makati central business district to a “First World” city in a Third World country.  “If the Philippines is capable of being first world in these centers of excellence, why can’t it be First World in every respect?” he said.

 

4.      Ong said the fourth reason would be the Philippines’ homegrown companies that were at par with the world’s best.  He cited fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp., international port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. and the Ayala group of companies. “There is a sense of optimism that characterizes the country as a whole.  As the new government takes its steps in leading the country towards change, it may be able to experience higher standards of governance,” he said.

 

5.      Finally, Ong noted the Philippines’ “sharply improving competitiveness” as another factor supporting its aspiration to be the next tiger economy. He cited recent reports that the Philippines had jumped 10 notches to 75 from 85 in the latest ranking of the World Economic Forum. Ong said this happened only within the first 15 months of the term of the new president.

Meanwhile, Ong said ASEAN would likely partly meet its target to establish an integrated economic community by 2015.

“A One ASEAN is important for our collective future to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and economic stability in the region; to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in economic, social, cultural, technical and administrative spheres,” Ong said.

“At the moment, Southeast Asia is like a big gated community where neighbors barely know each other. They know each other by name, they exchange pleasantries but they wouldn’t really go out of their way to have dinner at each other’s house,” he said.

Once integrated, he said, ASEAN could be a very influential bloc as it could become Asia’s third-largest economy next to China and Japan and the ninth-largest in the world.

The Philippines hinting to be a the second ASEAN tiger is so closed to achieve.

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