[EN] Asia Trends #1 – Islamic State and Counter-terrorist Strategies in Southeast Asia – Romain Brian Quivooij

More than a decade after the launching of the so-called “global war on terrorism (GWOT) by the Bush administration, the rise of the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS, ISIL or IS) has changed the landscape of Salafi-Jihadism. Four Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore) are exposed, at different levels, to violent extremist and terrorist activities connected to IS and Islamist factions, groups and networks such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).
As explained by Joseph Chinyong Liow, the threat is threefold. It includes the commission of attacks by perpetrators who “possess local grievances, for which the abstraction that is ISIS provides impetus and inspiration”. The leading or facilitating role that returning foreign fighters could play in the preparation and execution of attacks is a further cause for concern. Finally, the process of release of hundreds of jailed Indonesian militants who served their sentences is likely to have a long-lasting impact on local and regional dynamics of terrorism and armed insurgency.

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