According to a new report regional analysis center, the continued siege on the southern Philippine city of Marawi may be the beginning of a wider Asian problem of Islamist extremism.
The report of the Institute for policy analysis of conflict (IPAC) said that in the coming months and years, problems may arise from the interrelated militant groups in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, perhaps the result will be "a new regional centre of ISIS".
Within two months the armed forces of the Philippines tried to dislodge the ISIS fighters from Marawi after may 23, militants launched an offensive on the establishment of a Caliphate in the Philippines. The report, entitled "Marawi, "East Asia Wilaya" and Indonesia, discusses the mechanics of a coordinated attack on the city of Mindanao.
"Indonesia and Malaysia will face new threats in the form of returning fighters from Mindanao, and the Philippines will be many small scattered cells, capable of both violence and indoctrination".
Despite the looming threat of ISIS in the region, the report States that "enormous political and institutional obstacles," including mistrust between the governments of the Philippines and Malaysia, make coordinated efforts to counter extremism in East Asia difficult to effective implementation.
However, it also says that the ongoing battle is still not able to create "East Asia" or province proclaimed Caliphate of ISIS.
The siege, as of July 20, has claimed the lives of 99 government troops, 45 civilians and 427 of the militants and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of its citizens. Many of them live in temporary camps in cities surrounding the affected city.
sections: Politics, World News, Accidents, Accidents |