Latest Articles about Southeast Asia
BRIEFS
Nigeria: Another Small Victory Against Boko Haram According to reports this month, Nigerian troops uncovered a Boko Haram bomb-making factory near the border town of Ngala, Borno State, Nigeria. Army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usma, keen to promote the find as the latest success in Nigeria’s... MORE
Love as a Propaganda Machine: A Profile of Islamic State’s Jihadist-Love Culture Propagandist, “Shams”
Halla Diyab The Islamic State’s (IS) construction of a revolutionary jihadist-love culture and its perpetuation of a narrative that stands in deep contrast to the barbaric atrocities of the group demonstrates the organization’s attempts to romanticize the jihadist experience to gain sympathy and support from... MORE
China-Indonesia Relations Heat Up Along the Third “Dash”
On March 19, Chinese and Indonesian media reported that a confrontation had taken place between Chinese fishing boats and an Indonesian Fisheries Ministry ship near the Natuna Islands, in the South China Sea (Guancha, March 21; Konpas [Indonesia], March 21). Indonesian media reported that the... MORE
Abu Wardah Santoso: Indonesia’s Most Wanted
Zainul Abid Before the dust settled in the wake of a series of deadly bombings in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta on January 14, fingers were pointing at Santoso Abu Wardah AsySyarqi Hafidzahullah, whom the authorities have termed the country’s “most wanted terrorist.” Soon after... MORE
Hot Issue: The Islamic State’s Attack in Jakarta: Progeny, Profiles and Prospects for a Southeast Asia Province
Executive Summary This Hot Issue discusses the attack that the Islamic State commanded and claimed in Jakarta on January 14, 2016. It looks at the “progeny” of the attack, namely the mastermind, Barhun Naim, and the Katibah [Brigade] behind the attack, the “profiles” of the... MORE
The Maldives: Losing a Tourist Paradise to Terrorism
Renowned for pristine beaches and crystal blue waters, the Maldives is rapidly gaining prominence as a haven for jihadist recruitment. Maldivian men - reportedly 200 of them – have been streaming to Iraq and Syria to join the ranks of the Islamic State (IS) militant... MORE
Aman Abdurrahman: Indonesia’s Most Influential Extremist
Aman Abdurrahman has become arguably the most influential extremist ideologue in Indonesia today. A former Salafist preacher, Abdurrahman has become the foremost promoter of the Islamic State in Indonesia from his cell in the country’s so-called “super-maximum security” prison. His reputation among local Islamic State... MORE
Another Opportunity Lost: Russia and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is not generally seen as an area of Russia’s core vital interests. But given the priority of Moscow’s Asian pivot, it is an important area both in terms of strategic issues and economic opportunity. Nevertheless it seems that once again Moscow has missed... MORE
After the Tour: Xi Jinping’s Southeast Asian Diplomacy
Even for China’s unusually well-traveled president, Xi Jinping, the past month has seen a large number of important visits, culminating in the Asia Pacific Economic Partnership (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in Manila. Xi conducted his first state visits to Vietnam and Singapore, which included the... MORE
Indonesia’s New Counter-Terrorism Challenges
Following the 2002 Bali bombings, Indonesia confronted a seemingly unmanageable terrorist problem. Over the next decade, however, the country became widely viewed as a counter-terrorism success story as the threat from al-Qaeda-linked or -inspired jihadist groups declined dramatically. Unfortunately, the transnational pull of the conflicts... MORE