Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Mr President, may I also add my congratulations on your appointment as President. My question is to the Minister for Defence, Senator Payne. Can the minister please update the Senate on how ADF personnel-training teams are helping to build the capability of the Philippines armed forces to combat terrorism?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Reynolds for her question and join the enthusiastic queue sending congratulations to you, Mr President, on your appointment as President of the Senate. I thank the senator very much for the question, Mr President, because part of our engagement with the Philippines in recent times has been recognising the spread of Daesh in our region and the threat that it directs to Australia and to our interests. That is why, as a government, we are also committed to supporting the government of the Philippines to ensure that it is enabled to address the growing threat of terrorism in our region and indeed on its own shores. Australia acknowledges that the efforts that have been made to defeat the terrorists have come at great cost to the people of Marawi and to the armed forces of the Philippines, and we are committed to supporting the Philippines in this fight.

Last month, the Philippines Secretary of National Defense, Delfin Lorenzana, and I agreed to a range of new measures to increase our cooperation to ensure that the Philippines armed forces are able to defeat the challenges presented by Daesh-inspired terrorists and the like. ADF training teams are indeed now in the Philippines providing urban warfare counterterrorism training that builds upon the counterterrorism and counter-violent-extremism capabilities of the armed forces of the Philippines. I'm pleased to say, Mr President, that the first group of approximately 250 Philippines armed forces personnel completed the urban warfare training course just on Saturday, last weekend. This is the first of many groups that will participate in the training, helping to build the Philippines' long-term ability to counter terrorism threats and to fight these threats in a different context to what may have been their historic experience, particularly in relation to their skills in jungle warfare vis-a-vis urban warfare in this case. We value our longstanding and close defence relationship with the Philippines, and we are very committed to ensuring that we avoid the spread of terrorism.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Reynolds, a supplementary question.

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the minister for her answer. Can the minister also advise the Senate how else the Australian government is supporting the Philippines government in combating terrorism?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Indeed, the mobile training teams are one aspect of Australia's assistance that we have developed in close consultation with the Philippines government. As well, last week Australia and the Philippines conducted a very successful urban rehabilitation seminar, very pertinent to what has happened in Marawi, indeed. The seminar shared lessons on postconflict rehabilitation and restoration, exchanged experiences about past operations and discussed civil-military interaction.

Our Navy is also undertaking a range of cooperative activities to help build capacity in the Philippines in securing its maritime borders and to challenge terrorists in their use of interisland vessels. Two Australian patrol boats are currently undertaking joint patrols with the Philippines to strengthen maritime security. Personnel from the RAN and the Australian Customs service have just concluded Exercise Lumbas, a biennial maritime training activity with the Philippine Navy, which for the first time this year included participation from the Philippine Coast Guard. This is a threat not just to the Philippines but to the entire region.

Scott Ryan (President, Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Reynolds, a final supplementary question.

Linda Reynolds (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Can the minister also advise the Senate how else Australia is supporting the fight against terrorism more widely in our region?

Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Defence) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Across the region, we recognise that no single country is able to address the threat of terrorism on its own. The spread of Daesh in this region represents a risk to our collective security and our collective prosperity. In the 2016 Defence white paper, Australia committed to increasing international defence engagement, particularly in countries in South-East Asia and the South Pacific. We have an extensive program undertaken by the ADF of counterterrorism engagement and capacity-building activities with our regional partners, which includes, for example, special forces training exercises with Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Singapore, Japan and Brunei, and counter-IED training with the Royal Thai Armed Forces and the Royal Thai Police. Those are just some examples. We very much value those strong counterterrorism relationships that we've built with our regional partners. We recognise that effective regional cooperation is vital to defeat the threat of terrorism in the Indo-Pacific.