Indonesia Factor May Postpone KF-X Project



Indonesia has failed to pay its annual share of expenses for a joint project with South Korea to develop high-tech fighter jets, an opposition lawmaker claimed Wednesday.

The claim prompted concerns the project, dubbed KF-X, could be suspended.

Rep. Kim Jong-dae of the Justice Party, a member of the National Assembly Defense Committee, said Indonesia's state-run defense firm PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI), a participant in the project, has yet to pay this year's remaining allotted 138.9 billion won ($124.5 million) to Seoul as of the end of October, based on a document from the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).



"If Indonesia does not pay in time, the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) has to shoulder the burden of 40 percent of the development costs," Kim said. "Coupled with the current issue of the company being financially strapped, the KF-X project could easily be put in danger."

KAI is the nation's sole aircraft manufacturer that signed the KF-X contract with DAPA.



Seoul launched the KF-X project in 2015 to build its own 4.5-generation fighters to replace the Air Force's aging fleet of F-4s and F-5s by 2026.

PTDI signed an agreement with KAI in January 2016 to foot 20 percent of the cost in the development of the program, while KAI pays 20 percent and the South Korean government pays the remaining 60 percent of the 7.5 trillion won for the program.

Due to the form of agreement, the KAI faces a burden when payments from PTDI are delayed, Kim said.

KAI is reportedly in a liquidity crunch amid corruption allegations against its former management. According to a government audit, corporate bonds worth 600 billion won and 290 billion won in corporate paper are due by the end of this year. An internal report said KAI is 630 billion won short for its projected spending this year because of the shortage of cash and required payments on loans.

"The right timing of financing is critical in an R&D project that requires state-of-the-art technology. With no special measures for the delay in payment, the KF-X project could be suspended," the lawmaker said, calling for government action.



Starting April 2016, Indonesia agreed to pay 1 percent of the program costs annually, with its contribution to rise above 2 percent from 2017 onwards. Overall, the Southeast Asian country is supposed to pay 1.6 trillion won ($1.33 billion) into the KF-X program.

In 2017, the Indonesian government should pay 184 billion won but it only paid 45.2 billion won out of 92 billion won due in the first half of the year.

Kim accused DAPA of having downplayed concerns over the delayed payment.

He pointed out that the Indonesian government had officially disclosed its difficulty in paying 138.9 billion won in late September after it failed to include the money in its budget finalized in August.

But DAPA denied this, saying it was in close coordination with the Indonesian government for the payment due by October.

DAPA said the issue will be on the agenda for a summit between leaders of South Korea and Indonesia. President Moon Jae-in is scheduled to start an eight-day official trip to Southeast Asia, Nov. 8.

Change government....chance policy

Total budget for infrastructure and education in 2018 allocated at $60 billion. Defence budget increase very slightly.

Exercise Panzer Strike: The Roar of the Leopard



Orange flames exploded across the wide, barren land, followed by resounding echos in the cold wind.

This was a common occurrence for over 150 Operationally Ready National Servicemen (NSmen) tankees participating in Exercise Panzer Strike 2017. Held in the Oberlausitz Military Training Area, Germany, the exercise was an opportunity for them to hone their skills in a new environment and catch up with each other.

Turn up your volume and watch them in action!

Ah Boys to Men 4: OFFICIAL TRAILER

angkat daripada wikipedia actually wikipedia angkat daripada dia

got pic of it with add-on armour installed?

This post has been edited by KLboy92: Nov 2 2017, 11:09 PM

Lol...wiki posted on Oct 15...Thaipost posted on Oct 12.

The VT4 already equipped with composite & ERA tiles.

This post has been edited by azriel: Nov 3 2017, 07:47 AM

not yet becum a men?

Why sanctions may not work on Myanmar's military


Just a year after then US President Barack Obama announced the lifting of sanctions on Myanmar, the White House is considering reimposing targeted ones. In Europe, which Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing toured earlier this year, officials have suspended invitations to him while reviewing defence cooperation.



The change in tack comes amid persistent reports of human rights abuses in Myanmar against Rohingya Muslims, who say they have been raped, tortured and expelled from their homes by security forces in Rakhine state since August.

Targeted sanctions help draw a distinction between the military and the civilian government, which had little say on developments in Rakhine. It highlights the relatively few levers of power that Myanmar's de facto leader , Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, wields while she runs a government under the military-crafted Constitution.

But analysts say such sanctions would be symbolic at best, and aggravating at worst. "At this stage, no targeted sanction would have much impact on the military," Tagaung Institute of Political Studies analyst Soe Myint Aung told The Straits Times. "The West has maintained arms embargoes and Myanmar's military elites were accustomed to travel bans, asset freezes and other forms of international isolation. Suspending military-to-military ties is a minor setback for the Tatmadaw."



The Tatmadaw - as Myanmar's military is called locally - shrugged off international sanctions and ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for five decades before it staged a careful withdrawal from the front lines of government from 2010. While Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party maintains a ruling majority in Parliament and forms the government, the Constitution states that the Tatmadaw chief appoints the ministers for defence, border affairs and home affairs.

MINIMAL IMPACT

At this stage, no targeted sanction would have much impact on the military. The West has maintained arms embargoes and Myanmar's military elites were accustomed to travel bans, asset freezes and other forms of international isolation. Suspending military-to-military ties is a minor setback for the Tatmadaw (military).

Recognising this, India gave Myanmar commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing a statesman-like welcome during his week-long tour of the country in July. Over the past year, he has also addressed the European Union Military Committee in Brussels, visited Italian military equipment makers in Turin and met German armed forces chief Volker Wieker in Berlin.

In Myanmar, the Rakhine crisis has given the Tatmadaw tailwinds. It has capitalised on the majority view that the Rohingya do not belong in Myanmar, and projected itself as the country's protector after Rohingya militants staged an attack in Rakhine on Aug 25. International attention on the plight of 600,000 Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar have only hardened domestic perception of foreign bias towards this minority - which many locals now associate with terrorism.



In downtown Yangon on Sunday, thousands of people rallied in support of the Tatmadaw.

Mr Murray Hiebert, deputy director of the South-east Asia Programme at the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, told ST: "US criticism of the treatment of the Rohingya has been widely rejected inside Myanmar, so further sanctions are not likely to garner much support even by pro-democracy activists in the country who supported sanctions against the junta during the years of military rule."

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi receiving flowers from a girl at Sittwe Airport in Rakhine state yesterday. Ms Suu Kyi visited violence-hit Maungdaw and Buthidaung during her one-day trip.

Years of Western sanctions on the Tatmadaw and its cronies have inured Myanmar's businessmen to such constraints, while ceding space for Beijing's influence to flourish. "We've been sanctioned like nobody's business (in the past)," said managing director Moe Kyaw of Yangon-based Myanmar Marketing Research and Development. "We will just go on doing business like we do best."



China, which now gets oil via a pipeline running through northern Myanmar, has been restrained in its comments on Rakhine. In September, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Beijing "understands and supports" Myanmar's efforts to protect its security while expressing sympathy for the refugees.

Analysts say targeted sanctions may complicate the workings of an NLD government where three key Cabinet ministers are military officers. "Sanctions will make life tougher for the NLD government," said Mr Soe Myint Aung.

Among other things, Ms Suu Kyi's 19-month-old government needs the military's cooperation if it wants to hammer out the terms of lasting peace with ethnic armed groups across the country. Sanctions, even if targeted at the military, may end up crimping the civilian administration wedded to it.

Read more: http://www.janes.com/article/75351/singapo...-mission-vessel

Wth? They treated it like a towed arty
That's SPG abuse

old .gif for lulz


This post has been edited by pcboss00: Nov 3 2017, 05:45 PM

yea I realised that too

That pic macam kosong je? no further add-on armour blocks?

which imaginary enemy they fighting this time?

if they do ISIS or anti-piracy I would really respect tho. at least got some molecule of relevance

This post has been edited by KLboy92: Nov 3 2017, 06:01 PM

Turkey begins development of ATAK 2 Heavy Attack Helicopter.



http://warspot.ru/10384-u-turtsii-budet-sv...oevoy-vertolyot

http://www.janes.com/article/75400/tai-beg...tack-helicopter

This post has been edited by azriel: Nov 4 2017, 09:41 AM

Indonesian PT Pindad and Turkish FNSS Medium Tank Project Team pose with the Medium Tank 1st prototype. The 2nd prototype currently being built by PT Pindad is in its final stages of construction. Credit to Windu Nurkemal Paramarta.



https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10210...961&__tn__=EH-R

This post has been edited by azriel: Nov 5 2017, 11:31 AM

Walking through explosions! New Russian combat suit tested



The latest combat suit for soldiers was tested on Tuesday in Moscow suburbs.

The suit, jointly developed by Rostec Corporation and the TSNIITOCHMASH Research Institute, is made from aramid material which could withstand kinetic threats and fire.

It is expected to go into service in 2020.

Enlisting in the Russian Army ... look who's enlisting

Islamic State's grip widening in southern Philippines, says MILF leader



CAMP DARAPANAN, Philippines: From the air, Mindanao island in the southern Philippines is a stunning mass of lush greenery surrounded by sparkling blue waters, an unexpected stunning sight.

But on the ground, the lush beauty gives way to harsh realities. Mindanao is the poorest region in Philippines.

Four out of the top five poorest regions in the Philippines were in Mindanao in 2015, according to the Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA).

In June this year, Filipino Senator Sherwin Gatchalian was quoted by ABS-CBN News as saying that extremism in the southern Philippines can be traced to poverty and the only way to counter it is by ensuring that families have enough for their basic needs.

Insurgencies and armed conflicts have ravaged the island for 40 years, killing more than 100,000 people.

The latest large-scale armed conflict was the five-month siege of Marawi city by pro-Islamic State (IS) groups that ended last month, leaving 1,132 militants, soldiers and civilians dead, flattening buildings and displacing more than 200,000 residents.

The attack, led by the pro-IS Maute Group and Isnilon Hapilon of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was the fiercest fighting the Philippines government has faced in many years.
It also marked the most serious assault by the global terror group in a bid to get a foothold into Southeast Asia, raising the black flag of IS in Marawi, unsettling governments across the region.

The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest armed group in southern Philippine with 12,000 members, has warned of an increased IS presence in Mindanao following the Marawi siege.

At Camp Darapanan, the headquarters of MILF, the group’s leader, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, told Channel NewsAsia that it was crucial for on-going peace talks to succeed, as an antidote against the rising threat of violent extremism.

Murad, a former military commander who said he favours peace over war, warned that IS was exploiting the protracted peace talks to recruit people to join the group.

"DELAY IN PEACE TALKS DRIVING PEOPLE TO ISLAMIC STATE"

The 69-year-old spent decades fighting in the harsh jungles of Mindanao. Still, he has regularly been described as a moderate leader committed to peace.
But there are no mistaking his credentials. Heavily armed bodyguards suddenly appeared from nowhere to surround the garden when he arrived for an interview with Channel NewsAsia, followed by respectful handshakes and greetings extended by men in the vicinity.

Murad said a successful outcome to peace talks in Mindanao was of “great importance” for the stability and security of the whole of Southeast Asia.
“If the problems in the Philippines worsened, Malaysia (and) Indonesia will be affected,” said Murad.
“The longer this peace process takes, the more people are going to be radicalised,” he added.

“What we see now is ... they (pro-IS groups) are capitalising on the delay of the peace process. They try to influence young people (by saying) tens of years have been spent on the peace process but nothing happened,” said Murad.

“They try to get young people to join their group, saying that only by means of violence, could we achieve our aims,” he added.

MILF OPPOSED TO ISLAMIC STATE

MILF has publicly voiced its opposition to IS and is fighting alongside the Philippines’ military against pro-IS groups.
“For us, we are really determined to oppose this group (IS) … any radical groups. We don’t believe their activities will help in achieving our aspiration of Bangsamoro (people of Moro), (which is) a political aspiration for self government and self determination,” said Murad.



The MILF and the central government have been negotiating for greater autonomy and wealth sharing in Mindanao in peace talks that started in 1997. The talks have yet to conclude.
MILF, with its vast network of men and control over territory in Mindanao, has detected an increase in the number of IS militants in southern Philippines following the loss of the terror group’s territories in the Middle East
.
Western analysts recently said they expect IS fighters, driven from Syria and Iraq, to move to Libya and the Philippines.
‘We feel that after the Middle East, … where they (IS) are losing ground, they increased (their) penetration into the southern Philippines. We have information they (IS) want to strengthen their forces in southern Philippines because they see southern Philippines as a very strategic area,” said Murad.
“If you look at southern Philippines, it is at the center of several countries in the Pacific rim like Indonesia, Malaysia, southern Thailand ... they want to form a wilayat, a province of the (Islamic) Caliphate,” said Murad.

During the siege of Marawi, IS called for people to wage jihad in the city, drawing foreign fighters from Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East to the Philippines.
“According to our monitoring, there were three Middle Eastern-looking people in Marawi ... there were five men from Malaysia and about seven to eight from Indonesia,” said Murad.

WEAK RURAL GOVT CONTROL FACILITATES IS INFILTRATION

The government's weak control in parts of Mindanao – in the highlands and rural areas - is leaving the southern Philippines open to further penetration by IS, said Murad.
“They (IS) ... know government control over areas, especially in the highlands ... in rural areas, is not strong, particularly in Mindanao. Many areas are not well-protected. Mindanao is also very porous. They (IS) can easily come in,” said Murad.
“And it is easy to buy weapons here,” said Murad.

Add to that, infiltration by Malaysian and Indonesian IS militants were difficult to detect because “they look just like us,” said Murad.




Former MILF fighters told Channel NewsAsia in an earlier interview that the southern Philippines was the only place in Southeast Asia that IS could establish a province as the country was awash with weapons, armed groups and ungoverned spaces.

Asked whether IS will succeed in carving out a wilayah (territory) in southern Philippines, Murad said “no.”
“Given the problems in Mindanao, they (IS) can strengthen their forces. But to create a successful wilayah, I don’t think so,” said Murad.

FEARS OF ANOTHER MARAWI-STYLE ATTACK

The Philippines government has now declared the end of fighting in Marawi. As the government set out to rebuild the city, MILF warned there are signs pro-IS groups are attempting to stage another “Marawi-style” attack in other parts of Mindanao.
“After the Marawi attack, we really sense pro-IS are trying to launch attacks in other cities,” said Murad.

“We identified radical groups moving silently into Cotabato city. They were not armed and were probably doing reconnaissance,” said Murad.
Cotabato City is a 30-minute car ride away from MILF’s headquarters and serves as the regional seat for the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“We … deployed our own forces in strategic areas on the outskirts of Cotabato city, just to send a signal we will defend Cotabato city if they (pro-IS groups) attacked,” said Murad.
The ARMM is predominantly Muslim and comprises five provinces and two component cities in Mindanao.

SPLINTERING INTO RADICAL GROUPS

Meanwhile, the protracted peace talks have disappointed some of MILF’s young members, causing them to break away to form radical groups with some pledging allegiance to IS.
“History has shown that every time the peace process fails, you will have splinter groups They always end up being more radical,” said Murad.
Amongst them is the pro-IS Maute Group founded by brothers Omar and Abdullah Maute, leaders of the Marawi siege. Both were killed by the military.
“The Maute was (previously) with the MILF,” said Murad.

Murad traced the rise of the Maute Group to the breakdown of the 2015 peace process when the Philippines’ legislature failed to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to establish the new autonomous Muslim-majority region called Bangsamoro.

The BBL would have greater powers than the existing ARMM which it would replace.
“The Maute Group surfaced after the failure of the BBL in the last administration … they split from MILF in 2015 ... formed their own group under their own name,” said Murad.
Another MILF splinter group is the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) which pledged allegiance to IS in 2014, according to the Jakarta-based Institute For Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC).

TIES SEVERED WITH JEMAAH ISLAMIYAH SINCE 2001

In the mid-nineties, the MILF allowed the regional terror group, JI, to set up a para-military training camp in its territory, a decision that sometimes returns to haunt the group in peace negotiations.

Murad did not shy away from answering when asked why JI was allowed into its territory.
“JI from Indonesia volunteered to fight with us during the height of our fighting, especially at the time (when) there was this all-out war against MILF,” said Murad.
“So when they (asked to) set up their own camp, we permitted them. But after we resumed the peace process, we courteously asked them (JI) to leave the Philippines,” said Murad.
“We said that since we are already in the peace process, there is no need for us to have this (JI) training camp,” Murad added.
Murad said JI’s departure from its land started in 2001.

An official from the government-run Coordinating Committee on Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH) told Channel NewsAsia that Mount Caracao, where the JI camp was located, is verified “100 per cent free of JI” since 2013.

OPTIMISM UNDER DUTERTE

After years of disappointment, Murad is optimistic a revised draft BBL, the cornerstone of the peace negotiations, will be passed under President Rodrigo Duterte's administration.
“We are optimistic it (BBL) will be passed as long as the President continues to support the law,” said Murad.



“President Duterte … is the first president from Mindanao. He understands well the problems in Mindanao. He acknowledges there has been injustices committed against the Bangsamoro people,“ Murad.

Duterte, has vowed to fast-track a revised draft of the BBL for passage through the legislature.

The draft BBL was filed in the Lower House of Congress on Sep 29 this year.

To date, the ceasefire agreement signed by the MILF, as part of the peace negotiation, has been holding well.

Asked whether MILF will resume fighting should the BBL once again fail to pass through the legislature, Murad said: “We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”
Source: CNA/ac
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...ys-milf-9341224

Teenage terrorist pleads guilty to possessing two bombs



KOTA BARU • A teenager suspected of being involved in a planned attack on a beer festival in Kuala Lumpur has pleaded guilty to possessing two bombs.

Muhamad Hafizi Mat Jusoh, 19, pleaded guilty at the Kota Baru Sessions Court yesterday to possessing two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) when he was arrested in Kelantan on Oct 10, reported news site Malaysiakini.com.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of 14 years' jail and at least six lashings of the whip.



Muhamad Hafizi also faces four other charges relating to involvement in extremist groups. No pleas were recorded for these charges.

Two other suspects were in court with him, and also faced charges relating to terrorist activities.

Ahmad Azmi Ahmad Rosli, 24, and Mahadi Ibrahim, 34, did not record any pleas to those charges.

According to Malaysiakini, the charges relate to the provision of training and instruction to terrorist groups and persons committing terrorist acts, as well as soliciting or giving support to terrorist groups, or for the commission of terrorist acts.



After the trio were arrested last month, national police chief Mohamad Fuzi Harun said the police had seized five IEDs from them, each with a blast radius of 30m.

He had said the men were targeting entertainment outlets and non-Muslim places of worship in Klang Valley, aside from the beer festival.

The Better Beer Festival, scheduled for early last month at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, was cancelled in September due to political sensitivities, after religious groups said it was disrespectful to Muslims and would turn the capital into "the biggest centre of vice in Asia".

Later, however, Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi said the police had received information about security risks and that certain quarters were planning to cause chaos at the event.

A rocky road to peace in the southern Philippines: Pressures on the MILF leadership




CAMP DARAPANAN, Philippines: For 20 years, peace talks have been taking place in the southern Philippines between the national government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the largest armed group on Mindanao island with some 12,000 men in its fold.

Guided by its leader, Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, the MILF is seeking a degree of autonomy from Manila. If the peace talks come to a successful conclusion, the MILF will become a major leader in a new political entity that will be known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region that will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).



The ARMM comprises five predominantly Muslim provinces - Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi - on Mindanao.

“The MILF will be at the helm of the Bangsamoro (new political entity) that will replace the current ARMM once the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law) is passed,” Professor Benedicto Bacani, executive director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG), told Channel NewsAsia.

However, analysts say that even if the peace talks reach a successful conclusion, the MILF will have to work hard to unify a region where other groups also have a strong voice and where Murad’s conciliatory strategy has come in for criticism.

“He is a moderate leader committed to peace,” said Prof Bacani. “Murad has steered the MILF towards a pragmatic and political road. This has helped move the peace process.

“On the other hand, this strength is a weakness for some who consider Murad as having compromised with the government (too) much.”

Murad’s predecessor, Hashim Salamat, was known as a fierce ideologue who split away from the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in the mid-seventies, establishing the MILF in 1984.



Since then, the MILF has established itself as the dominant force in the region – but its influence does not spread everywhere.

“The general perception is that the MILF is strongly supported only in Maguindanao ... It needs to reach out now, more than ever, to the Maranaos who feel that the MILF has not done enough to prevent or help resolve the Marawi incident with less loss of lives and property,” said Prof Bacani.

Maranaos refer to the inhabitants of the city of Marawi. which was attacked by pro-Islamic State groups who laid siege to it for five months before the government took back control on Oct 17. The MILF publicly condemned the attack.

“The island provinces (Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi) are dominated by the MNLF (rather) than the MILF,” Prof Bacani added.

NEED FOR INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

The MILF’s patchy influence in the southern Philippines could have implications for the group’s ability to lead the region should there be a successful outcome to the protracted peace talks.

“In order to boost its legitimacy as a representative of the majority of Muslims, the MILF has to demonstrate its leadership and capacity to build alliances with other groups​. Such legitimacy cannot be imposed by the central government,” said Prof Bacani.

“The MILF has yet to unveil its concrete plan to raise confidence that its brand of governance is better than administrations that preceded the MILF.”

Inclusive leadership is seen as essential as Mindanao’s cultural and social make-up comprises many clans and traditional leaders, as well as the MNLF.

DIMINISHING INFLUENCE

While Murad faces the challenge of bringing together a group of disparate voices, he is also facing difficulties holding his own organisation together.

The failure of successive peace talks has seen MILF splintering into radical, new groups which have shunned peace and pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) instead.

“Every day that the peace process is delayed, the MILF is weaker, has less popular legitimacy and is less able to implement the (peace) agreement,” said Prof Zachary Abuza of the US National War College in Washington DC.

“Murad has staked his entire career and reputation in the peace process. He is pragmatic and moderate. He has abandoned the group’s maximalist goals (of independence). In the mid-2000s, he tried to purge or isolate hardline opponents who were against the peace process,” said Prof Abuza, who specialises in Southeast Asia politics, insurgencies and terrorism.

“Most Moros believe the government is unable and unwilling to give them meaningful autonomy.”

DUTERTE BEST HOPE FOR SUCCESSFUL PEACE TALKS

Such dynamics are raising questions about whether there can ever be a successful outcome to the peace negotiations.

However, peace negotiators and the MILF remain optimistic – not least because the perception is that President Rodrigo Duterte, who is the first president to hail from Mindanao, is sincere in pushing for a successful conclusion to the talks.

“Duterte has a better sense of the Mindanao conflict and how best to resolve it. He is the first president to open the door for charter (constitutional) change or shifting the country's political system to federalism to accommodate the aspirations for self governance of the Moro people,” said Prof Bacani.

“But it is equally important that the Moro people themselves have a united and strong voice in the political processes that seek to implement the peace agreements.”
Source: CNA/ac
Read more at http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapa...ures-on-9343978

Malaysian terrorist is new 'emir' in South-east Asia

Sabahan Mohammad Amin Baco has had a long experience in fighting a guerilla war. He is also adept at making bombs, a knowledge he has passed on to many recruits.

MANILA - A top Malaysian terrorist with long combat experience in the war-torn southern Philippine island of Mindanao is the new "emir" of the ultra-radical Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in South-east Asia, the Philippines' police chief said on Monday (Nov 6).

Sabahan Mohammad Amin Baco, 31, replaced Isnilon Hapilon, 51, who was killed as the five-months-long conflict between Philippine troops and Muslim militants for Marawi city in Mindanao, drew to a close.



"Amin Baco is now the leader, not just of the remaining Maute but as emir of South-east Asia ISIS," Director-General Ronald de la Rosa told reporters, referring to the group that supplied the bulk of fighters who stormed Marawi on May 23.

Deputy Director-General Rolando Mendez said Baco is "one of the most experienced terrorists" in the Philippines, plotting attacks and providing combat training to local militants for years.

Baco was an operative of the Malaysia-based terror group Jemaah Islamiyah.

Intelligence sources said he was trained by fellow Malaysian Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, who was one of the world's most wanted terrorists when he was killed in a police raid two years ago.

Baco was staying near Marwan's remote hideout in Mamasapano town in Mindanao during the raid, but he eluded arrest, said Mr Mendez.

Security officials said Baco took part in the Marawi attack, but they could not ascertain whether he managed to flee or is leading dozens of stragglers still inside the city.

Mr De la Rosa said most of the new information about Baco was provided by Muhammad Ilham Syahputra, an Indonesian militant nabbed in Marawi last week.

Security expert Rommel Banlaoi said Baco presents a bigger threat than Hapilon or Mahmud Ahmad, a former Malaysian university lecturer who was Hapilon's No 2 but was also killed in Marawi.



Mahmud was regarded more as an ideologue and organiser than a battlefield commander.

Baco, on the other hand, has had a long experience in fighting a guerilla war. He is also adept at making bombs, a knowledge he has passed on to many recruits.

Besides Baco, security forces are also hunting for 42-year-old Malaysian municipal council worker Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee and an Indonesian known only as Qayyim.