Terrorism in Southeast Asia
Abstract
Since September 2001, the United States has been concerned with radical Islamic groups in Southeast Asia, particularly those in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore, that are known to have ties to the Al Qaeda terrorist network. Southeast Asia is a base for past, current, and possibly future Al Qaeda operations. For nearly 15 years, Al Qaeda has penetrated the region by establishing local cells, training Southeast Asians in its camps in Afghanistan, and by financing and cooperating with indigenous radical Islamic groups. Indonesia and the southern Philippines have been particularly vulnerable to penetration by anti-American Islamic terrorist groups. Members of one indigenous network, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), with extensive ties to Al Qaeda, are known to have assisted two of the September 11, 2001 hijackers and have confessed to plotting and carrying out attacks against Western targets. These include the deadliest terrorist attack since September 2001: the October 12, 2002 bombing in Bali, Indonesia, that killed approximately 200 people, mostly Westerners. On September 9, 2004, a suicide bombing attack thought to be the work of JI struck the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, killing 10 and wounding around 200. The attack suggests that JI remains capable of carrying out relatively large-scale plots against "hard" Western targets, despite the arrest or death of hundreds of JI members, including most of its known leadership. To combat the threat, the Bush Administration has pressed countries in the region to arrest suspected terrorist individuals and organizations, deployed over 1,000 troops to the southern Philippines to advise the Philippine military in their fight against the violent Abu Sayyaf Group, increased intelligence sharing operations, restarted military-military relations with Indonesia, and provided or requested from Congress over $1 billion in aid to Indonesia and the Philippines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 07, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA444939
Entities
People
- Bruce Vaughn
- Emma Chanlett-Avery
- Larry Niksch
- Mark Manyin
- Richard Cronin
Organizations
- Library of Congress