Ann: Philippines Mindanao Island Security Status, page-14

My thoughts on martial law are that at this stage it is just a few dozen rebels in a west of Mindanao that was sparked off by a botched military raid (ie it wasn't a co-ordinated attack by the rebels) and the reports are already suggesting that they've already killed 31 of those rebels.

So if the initial reports are accurate, and assuming that the general region is not a complete powder-keg destined to erupt, then I suspect that the rebels will be suppressed in the coming days, or more promising would be a negotiated truce.

So it's what happens after this initial skirmish that will be interesting.

If Duterte suspends martial law in the coming 60 days I'll see that as a massively bullish sign for both the security of the region and Duterte's ability to be a pragmatic president.

My fear is that there might be more to the story than is apparent to the public at this stage and potentially some bigger picture geopolitical meddling.

And killing 31 rebels rarely is enough to "end a conflict" as it is to "engender desires for revenge amongst survivors".

The last thing MML shareholders need is a persistent conflict establishing itself in West Mindanao and it becoming one of the go to destinations for world's rebels without a cause that operations like ISIS effectively attract.

I guess we will know in 60 days or so.

Thankfully Medusa's mine doesn't tend to make money, so it's probably unlikely to be a target for rebels anyway. I assume that even rebels like getting paid...

HAHAHA!