Australia has assured anew the Philippines of its support in combating terrorism and offered to help the Duterte administration improve its law enforcement efforts, Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said on Sunday.
In a statement, Cayetano said Canberra made the commitment during his bilateral meeting with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Saturday on the sidelines of the special summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Australia in Sydney.
He said the Australian leader offered assistance in rebuilding Marawi City, which was flattened after a five-month gun battle between government forces and members of the Islamic State-allied Maute terror group who overran the city in May 2017.
“We had very good discussions with … Turnbull where we both reaffirmed, among others, our desire to strengthen our cooperation in the fight against violent extremism,” Cayetano said.
“The Philippines cannot fight and win this war on its own. We need to work with the rest of the international community in the fight against terrorism,” he added.