The International Monitoring Team (IMT) was a monitoring team composed of 60 members headquartered in

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato (Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ; Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Dakbayan sa Cotabato''; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, inde ...

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) is the List of islands of the Philippines, second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and List of islands by population, seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the ...

of the Philippines to monitor the implementation of peace between the

Government of the Philippines The government of the Philippines () has three interdependent branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The Philippines is Central government, governed as a unitary state under a presidential system, presidential representativ ...

(GPH) and one of the largest rebels in the region, the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ) is an Islamist group based in Mindanao, Philippines, which sought an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro region of Mindanao, t ...

(MILF) in the

Moro conflict The Moro conflictFernandez, Maria. (2017). Implementing Peace and Development in the Bangsamoro: Potentials and Constraints of Socio-Economic Programs for Conflict-Affected Areas in Southern Philippines (1913-2015). 10.13140/RG.2.2.14829.3376 ...

. The team is led by

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

, followed by Brunei Darussalam,

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

, Japan,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

, Norway and subsequently the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

History

The IMT was launched in October 2004 by Malaysia together with Brunei and Libya to oversee the situation after the GPH and MILF signed their

ceasefire A ceasefire (also known as a truce), also spelled cease-fire (the antonym of 'open fire'), is a stoppage of a war in which each side agrees with the other to suspend aggressive actions often due to mediation by a third party. Ceasefires may b ...

agreement in 2003. In October 2006, Japan began to join the monitoring team. Armed conflict however still resumed and the security situation deteriorated until August 2008 when the national co-ordination surrounding resolutions of pending land problems failed. During the period, the lead was taken by Libya which then rose skepticism from the MILF over the slowing process. Malaysia then decided to withdraw its contingent in November 2008 and the IMT temporarily suspended its activities in 2009. The IMT became active again in February 2010, the same year when Norway began to join the monitoring team. Indonesia also joined the IMT in 2011 after being invited by the Philippines in 2009. The

would sign the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in 2014. This in turn led to

Bangsamoro Bangsamoro, officially the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM; ; ), is an autonomous region in the Philippines, located in the southwestern portion of the island of Mindanao. Replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Minda ...

autonomous region being formed in the southern Philippines in 2019 as part of the peace process. In March 2022, the Philippine government led by President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945) is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the first Philippine president from Mindanao, and is the oldest person to assum ...

informed that the IMT that it would no longer extend its mission. The IMT officially left the Philippines in June 2022. At its peak the IMT had 60 personnel but this figure gradually decreased over time.

Order of Mission IMT

Malaysia *

Malaysian Armed Forces The Malaysian Armed Forces (: MAF; ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), are the armed forces of Malaysia, consists of three branches; the Malaysian Army, Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysian Air Force. The number of MAF active personnel is 113,000 ...

(MAF) *

Royal Malaysia Police The Royal Malaysia Police (often abbreviated RMP) (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), is a (primarily) uniformed national and federal police force in Malaysia. The force is a centralised organisation, and its headquarters are located at Bukit Aman, Kuala ...

(RMP) *Small team of ministry by civilian personnel **

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Indonesia * Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) *

Indonesian National Police The Indonesian National Police (, abbreviated as POLRI) is the national law enforcement and police force of the Republic of Indonesia. Founded on 1 July 1946, it was formerly a part of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, country's military si ...

(POLRI) Brunei * Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) * Royal Brunei Police Force (RBPF) Libya (2004-2009) * Libyan Armed Forces

Roles

IMT was responsible in monitoring the security, humanitarian, rehabilitation and development aspects, as well as socio-economic assistance and civilian protection.

Areas coverage

IMT covered the areas of: *

Zamboanga del Norte Zamboanga del Norte (Cebuano language, Cebuano: ''Amihanang Zamboanga''; Subanon language, Subanon: ''Utara Sembwangan''; ), officially the Province of Zamboanga del Norte, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines situated w ...

* Zamboanga Sibugay * Zamboanga del Sur *

Maguindanao Maguindanao (; Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Magindanaw''; Iranun: ''Perobinsia a Magindanao''; ) was a province of the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). From 2014 to 2022, its provincial capital ...

* North Cotabato *

South Cotabato South Cotabato, officially the Province of South Cotabato, is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Soccsksargen Regions of the Philippines, region in Mindanao. Its capital is Koronadal (also the regional cen ...

Bukidnon Bukidnon (), officially the Province of Bukidnon (; ; ; Bukid language, Binukid and Higaonon language, Higaonon: ''Probinsya ta Bukidnon''), is a landlocked Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Northern Mindan ...

* Lanao del Norte *

Lanao del Sur Lanao del Sur (; Meranaw and ; Jawi ''(Batang Arab)'': ), officially the Province of Lanao del Sur, is a province in the Philippines located in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). The capital is the city of Marawi (th ...

Sultan Kudarat Sultan Kudarat, officially the Province of Sultan Kudarat (; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sultan Kudarat'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سولتان كودرت; ; Ilocano language, Ilocano: ''Probinsia ti Sultan Ku ...

Sarangani Sarangani, officially the Province of Sarangani (; ; Maguindanao language, Maguindanaon: ''Dairat nu Sarangani'', Jawi Alphabet, Jawi: دايرت نو سرڠان; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the ...

Davao del Norte Davao del Norte (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Norte (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital and largest city is Tagum. The province also includes Sam ...

* Compostela Valley *

Davao del Sur Davao del Sur (; ), officially the Province of Davao del Sur (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is Digos. Davao City is the largest city in terms of area an ...

Davao Oriental Davao Oriental (; ), officially the Province of Davao Oriental (; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province in the Philippines located in the Davao Region in Mindanao. Its capital is the city of Mati, Davao Oriental, Mati which is the most ...

Basilan Basilan, officially the Province of Basilan (; ; ; ), is an island province of the Philippines located primarily in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Basilan Island is the largest and northernmost of the major islands of the Sulu Archipelago ...

Sulu Sulu (), officially the Province of Sulu (Tausug language, Tausūg: ''Wilaya' sin Lupa' Sūg''; ), is a Provinces of the Philippines, province of the Philippines in the Sulu Archipelago. It was part of the Bangsamoro, Bangsamoro Autonomous R ...

* Tawi-Tawi *

Palawan Palawan (, ), officially the Province of Palawan (; ), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in terms of total area of . The capital and largest c ...

Notable former IMT

Notable servicemen who took part in the IMT are: *General (Retired) Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin, former

Chief of Defence A chief of defence (or head of defence) is the highest ranked Officer (armed forces), commissioned officer of a nation's armed forces. The acronym CHOD is in common use within NATO and the European Union as a generic term for the highest national ...

and

Malaysian Army The Malaysian Army (; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the land component of the Malaysian Armed Forces. Steeped in British Army traditions, the Malaysian Army does not carry the title ‘royal’ () as do the Royal Malaysian Navy and the Royal Malaysi ...

*General (Retired) Tan Sri Zamrose Mohd Zain, former Chief of Malaysian Army *Major General (Retired) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan, former Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force and Armed Forces *Brigadier General (Retired) Dato Seri Pahlawan Abdul Razak Abdul Kadir, former Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force and Deputy

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

*First Admiral (Retired) Dato Seri Pahlawan Spry Serudi, former Commander of the Royal Brunei Navy *Colonel (Retired) Ismaon Zainie, former Chief of Staff of the Joint Force Headquarters of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces *Colonel (Retired) Azman Bangkol, former Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force *Colonel Muhammad Wata, Deputy Commander of the Royal Brunei Land Force *Muhyamin Wahab, former member civilian staff IMT of

Ministry of Defence (Malaysia) The Ministry of Defence (; Jawi script, Jawi: ), abbreviated MINDEF or KEMENTAH, is a ministry (government department), ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for Defense (military), defence, national security, army, navy, hy ...

and write his book entitled Debaran Semusim di Cotabat

References

{{Moro conflict Foreign relations of the Philippines Cotabato City 2004 establishments in the Philippines Peacekeeping 2022 disestablishments in the Philippines