Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia will launch joint patrols in waters off the Mindanao region to counter threats from Islamic State group militants. <br/><br/>Speaking at Shangri-La Dialogue, a security conference in Singapore, Malaysian Defence Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein today said joint sea patrols in the waters bordering the three nations would start on 19th of this month with air patrols starting at a later date. <br/><br/>He said, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore have earlier carried out successful joint patrols in the Malacca Strait bordering their countries to fight maritime piracy. <br/><br/>Speaking at the summit, the Defence Ministers also warned of the threat posed by returning Southeast Asian militants who are fighting with the IS in Iraq and Syria where the group is losing territory.