In October 2020, when asked about the Australian government’s stance on the Philippines’ infamously sweeping new anti-terror legislation, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) was coy. “We are concerned about legislation in this area,” said DFAT’s acting first assistant secretary for the Southeast Asia division Tom Connor. “We are paying very close attention to it.” Asked whether Australia had provided “development assistance or technical support” in the law’s drafting, Connor took the question on notice.

Months later, the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that DFAT had, in fact, provided substantial “technical assistance” over three years to the Philippine government in drafting the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. DFAT itself stated that such assistance was intended to “bring Philippine counter terrorism legislation to modern international standards, including consistency with UN guidance.”

For its part, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights deemed the anti-terror laws “worrying.” Indeed, under the legislation, anyone fitting the vaguely defined charge of terrorism can be arrested without a warrant, detained for up to twenty-four days without charge, and surveilled or wiretapped for up to ninety days — among other things.