Brunei interested in leading Philippines ceasefire monitors
Updated
Brunei has expressed interest in leading the International Monitoring Team which oversees the ceasefire between the Philippines military and the rebel Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Our reporter in Manila, Shirley Escalante, says the M.I.L.F.'s secretariat says the president of Brunei's dominant political party, the Brunei National Development Party, has assured the rebel group that it is willing to take over from Malaysia as soon as it completes the pull-out of its troops next month.
Malaysia has begun the gradual withdrawal of its peacekeepers from the Philippine south due to the slow progress of the peace talks between the Philippine government and the M.I.L.F.
Brunei's political party met with rebel representatives and said it considers Malaysia's pull-out as an opportunity to show its capability to take on the lead role among the peacekeepers.
The international monitors include troops from Malaysia, Brunei and Libya as well as a development expert from Japan.
The Philippine military has recorded about 40 hostilities involving the M.I.L.F. in the past eight weeks.
