By Audrey Morallo
MANILA, Philippines — Australia warned over the weekend that the so-called Islamic State (IS) might declare an Islamic caliphate in Mindanao as the group is already being pushed out of the Middle East.
Speaking to Sky News Australia, Julie Bishop, the country’s foreign minister, said that Canberra was concerned about IS fighters returning from the Middle East back to their home countries in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
Bishop, who has just returned from the United States for talks with countries about eradicating IS, said that around 600 Southeast Asian fighters were monitored to have been on their way home after fighting for IS in the Middle East.
“So there’s concern that ISIS may well seek to declare a caliphate, an Islamic caliphate in southern Philippines,” she said.
Bishop said that Australia had relayed its concern to President Rodrigo Duterte when she visited the Philippines recently.
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