Australia Sending Spy Planes To Marawi
The Australian government is set to send two surveillance
aircraft to assist the Philippines in its fight against Islamic State
(IS)-linked militants in Marawi City, a move welcomed by MalacaƱang and the
Defense department on Friday, June 23.
Two AP-3C Orion aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force
will provide surveillance support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),
Canberra said.
“The regional threat from terrorism, in particular from
Daesh and foreign fighters, is a direct threat to Australia and our interests,”
said Australian Defense Minister Marise Payne, using an Arabic acronym for IS.
“Australia will continue to work with our partners in
Southeast Asia to counter it,” she said.
In Davao City, Palace spokesman Ernesto Abella said: “We
would gladly welcome any form of foreign assistance allowed under our
Constitution to help suppress the rebellion in Marawi.”
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also welcomed Australia’s
“technical assistance.”
Philippine troops will benefit from Australia’s airborne
surveillance “any time of the day, thereby improving operations on the ground,”
he noted.
“The operation of these aircraft will not require the
embedding of ADF personnel with Filipino troops on the ground,” he clarified.
Payne recently spoke with her Philippine counterpart,
Lorenzana, about how Australia could help and “we agreed the best way to defeat
terrorism in our region is for us to work together.”
The clashes prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to declare
martial law in Mindanao.
The military earlier confirmed the presence of American
troops in Marawi but clarified that their participation was limited to the
sharing of intelligence.
Australia Sending Spy Planes To Marawi
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July 25, 2017
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