PHILIPPINES: It is only 20 miles long and 40 miles wide with a population of 300,000. It is so small it doesn't even register as a dot on most maps of the southern Philippines. But the island of Basilan, with its mist-clad hills and dense jungles, is where the focus has turned in the next phase in the US-led war against terrorism.
Basilan is home to the notorious Muslim extremist group, Abu Sayyaf, which has apparent links with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network. It is reached by a 40-minute ferry ride from the city of Zamboanga in the neighbouring island of Mindanao. It is a dangerous place to be these days.
"You are white and you are female. Be careful," I was warned. "But don't worry. If Abu Sayyaf kidnap you they will not kill you straight away. They will first try to take a lot of ransom money from your company."
The ferry docks in the island's busy port capital of Isabela, with its choking streets and colourful three-wheeled pedicars. Scores of ragged, thin children line the harbour entrance begging for money. Idle men hang in groups on street corners, wondering who this stranger is. Unlike the rest of the Philippines, almost two-thirds of the population of Basilan are Muslim. Women, their heads covered with black scarves, scurry along the narrow roads.
We drive immediately to the headquarters of the Philippine Army 103rd Infantry Division five kilometres away, having been advised not to spend any time sightseeing in Isabela. En route we pass a sign for the island's Poor Clare Monastery. In the coming weeks, this military camp will be at the centre of a combined Philippine/US effort to eradicate the scourge of Abu Sayyaf.
The guerrilla group professes to fight for an Islamic state but has turned into a kidnap gang, earning millions of dollars in ransom since gaining world attention last summer when it abducted 21 mostly foreign tourists from a nearby Malaysian tourist resort. It has been holding three hostages, a US missionary couple and a nurse, here on Basilan for more than eight months.
After years of fighting the guerrillas with guns sometimes older than themselves, the Philippine army is accepting US offers to train its soldiers to conquer the enemy, a move that has officially opened the second front in the global campaign against terror after Afghanistan.
"We are very glad they are going to assist us in our mission by showing us how we can improve our methods, " said Lieut Col Hamja Hailil, the civil military operations officer at the 103rd Infantry division.
Lieut Col Hailil spoke to The Irish Times yesterday as preparations went into high gear for the arrival on Basilan of US Special Forces to train local soldiers in fighting the Muslim extremists. The first 200 of a force of 660 US troops arrived in Zamboanga last week.
They are expected on the island before the end of the month. According to Lieut Col Hailil, six senior US officers flew by helicopter from Zamboanga to the military base at the weekend to do a needs assessment. He said they are currently looking for a suitable site for the US to establish a base. "We have sorted out suitable helicopter landing facilities," he added.
A contingent of 160 US Special Forces troops will join Filipinos in training patrols at the ranger scout camp on Basilan. The training will involve live ammunition and live targets and the use of high-tech equipment.
As part of the US operation, 1,200 Filipinos will be equipped with modern assault rifles, night vision goggles, powerful radios and surveillance systems to help them pinpoint the locations of the Abu Sayyaf hiding in the island's thick jungles.
Some of the rifles the soldiers are using date back to the Vietnam war, and risk jamming in the heat of battle. The tanks and army trucks here at the 103rd infantry headquarters look like they have seen better days.
Since the Abu Sayyaf seized missionaries Martin and Gracia Burnham last May, the Philippine military has thrown 6,000 troops into the operation to rescue them. The price has been heavy, with dozens of dead on both sides.
According to Lieut Col Hailil, the mission to stamp out Abu Sayyaf will continue in parallel with the six-month US training exercise. "We have good intelligence and, while we could be better equipped, we will continue the fight." From a force of several hundred Lieut Col Hailil says there are now fewer than 100 guerillas left on the island.
"They are moving all the time in the jungles and are hard to pinpoint. The Americans are helping us and we welcome that. But at the end of the day this is our war," he said.