The battle for Marawi has broad implications for South-east Asia

IT is now almost a month since the first black flag of the Islamic State was raised in Marawi, Mindanao, in the southern Philippines. The battle to retake the city is still raging.

Hundreds of innocent civilians are believed to remain trapped in militant-held areas. They face starvation or being killed in crossfire. These IS-aligned rebels seem to have skills in fighting in built-up areas and have been hard to dislodge, despite aerial bombing and artillery fire. Much of the city, the second largest in the island and the largest predominantly Muslim city in the country, now lies in ruins. Militants control about 20 per cent of the city area.

It should be obvious by now that there has been a catastrophic failure of intelligence. The Duterte administration seems to have completely missed the rebel presence in the city which gave them enough time to construct underground bunkers and tunnels that could withstand air strikes and stockpile an impressive array of arms, including anti-aircraft weapons. Security experts believe foreign fighters from Indonesia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Chechnya have joined fellow Islamists in the battle.