$40m spent on Philippines terror fight

The Defence department has revealed close to $40 million had been allocated to counter terrorism in the Philippines.

Australia allocated close to $40 million towards helping the Philippines counter Islamic militants and the threat of returned foreign fighters from the Middle East.

The Defence Force has 80 soldiers training Filippino troops in urban warfare, and also had surveillance aircraft and some navy personnel deployed as part of a mission dubbed Operation Augury.

Overall, there are 100 Australian military personnel in the Philippines, with patrol boats HMAS Albany and Glenelg doing maritime surveillance with Philippines Naval Forces in Sulu and Celebes Sea.

This year's federal budget did not disclose money allocated over the next four years and references to the operation have disappeared from the department's website, with the Turnbull government citing "national security reasons".

Defence secretary Greg Moriarty told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday $39.1 million had been allocated in the 2017/18 financial year and as of the end of April, Defence had spent $7.6 million.

He said not all costs had been captured.

Last year, the Philippines scrambled to quash a five-month Islamic State insurgency in Marawi.


Share
Published 29 May 2018 11:18am
Source: AAP


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world