Second Battle of Isabela City (21st Century Crisis)

The Second Battle of Isabela City (Malay: Pertempuran Kota Pasalan Kedua, Filipino: Pangalawang Laban sa Lungsod ng Isabela, Spanish: Segunda Batalla de Cuidad Isabela) was fought between the Mindanao Free Army and the Filipino Armed Forces with aid from Mexico for control of Isabela City from July 4, 1962 to October 31, 1963.

It was considered a very fierce battle, with the Filipino and Mexican forces nearly defeating the Mindanao Free Army. The Filipino and Mexican forces had planned to subjagate the former capital city of the former Kingdom of Sulu (now a province within the de facto Republic of Mindanao).

Though stating that their incursion was nothing more but territorial purposes, the Filipino army evidently had religious intentions to make Roman Catholicism the majority religion in Isabela City, by bringing in Catholic missionaries from Luzon, and even Mexico. It became obvious when Moro fighters discovered plans left behind by Filipino troops, mapping out sections of the city they had planned to give to wealthy Filipino Mestizos of Roman Catholic faith and even Mexican settlers once they took the city.

This, renewed the Sulu forces' motivation, by occupying parts of the city that the Filipinos had planned to give to settlers.

In addition, many Mexican soldiers married with captured Tausug and Yakan women, after having them converted to Roman Catholicism. The Filipinos figured that if the "capital" of the former Kingdom of Sulu fell, then the rest of the Sulu Archipelago would submit to Filipino occupation, and hopefully accept the Roman Catholic faith.

Many of Sulu's Christians however, did not support the Filipino incursion, and carried out abduction operations against Catholic missionaries, and helping their Muslim counterparts fight the joint-Filipino and Mexican invasion.

Realizing the mission as a failure, and accepting that the Sulu natives would never surrender, helicopters arrived to evacuate the remaining Filipino and Mexican soldiers.