The Jakarta Post reported the top military official as saying that such an IS presence would pose a serious security threat to Indonesia as well.

Indonesia’s General Gatot Nurmantyo had last Tuesday said that IS has started building its base in Mindanao, after having lost a lot of ground in Iraq and Syria to the internationally-backed anti-IS forces in recent weeks.

The report also prompted Philippinne President Rodrigo Duterte to claim the next day that IS terrorists could move their ambitions to create a caliphate to Southeast Asia, if they are driven out of Iraq and Syria.

“This is our problem now. These extremists are fighting it out in Aleppo (Syria) and Mosul (Iraq). Once they run out of land base, they would retreat to the sea and escape.

“They have this dream of a caliphate kingdom that would comprise Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei,” Duterte was quoted as saying by Philippine Daily Inquirer.

Duterte also issued a warning to Mindanao authorities on the importance of having a federal government setup towards securing peace in the island.

“Believe me. It’s up to you. I leave it to the people to decide. If the federal system would not be approved, you might as well give up Mindanao. We will not have peace.

“Hence, if others are resistant to the idea of a federal setup, without that federalism, the Moro people will never agree to anything else,” he said, according to the Philippine daily.

Duterte had also voiced his concern over possible terror attacks in the Philippines, urging the public to be prepared for such an eventuality.

“The next adventure that I will embark on is terrorism. Be prepared for that. That’s what I fear most, even more than the problem of illegal drugs,” he was quoted as saying by Enquirer.