...Email: isaspt@nus.edu.sg Wesbite: www.isas.nus.edu.sg ECONOMIC IMPACT OF TERRORISM ON THE SOUTHEAST ASIAN REGION 1 S. Narayan 2 Introduction The most important sea-lane of communication (SLOC) in the Southeast Asian region is the Straits of Malacca, the main passage between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. It is 600 miles long and 300 miles wide on its western side. The length of the Singapore Straits, which connects Malacca with the South China Sea, is 75 miles, with an overall width of less than 12 miles. The Malacca and Singapore Straits provides the artery through which a significant proportion of global trade is conducted. Some 50,000 ship movements carrying as much as one quarter of the world’s commerce and half the world’s oil pass through these Straits each year. The second SLOC is the wider and deeper Lombok. It is less congested than the Straits of Malacca, is quite often used as an alternative passage and is considered a safer route. The third SLOC is the 50-mile long Straits of Sunda, another alternative to Malacca. Because the currents are strong and the depth of the water is limited, deep draft ships do not use these straits. The largest SLOC is the South China Sea. It stretches 1,800 nautical miles from Sumatra to Taiwan and is home to four principal island groups and three major zones of 1 2 This paper was presented at the “Homeland & Maritime Security Asia 2005” International Conference in Singapore on 12 October 2005. Dr S. Narayan...
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...edu/nonpublished_reports Recommended Citation Bakir, Niyazi Onur, "A Brief Analysis of Threats and Vulnerabilities in the Maritime Domain" (2007). Non-published Research Reports. Paper 5. http://research.create.usc.edu/nonpublished_reports/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by CREATE Research Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Non-published Research Reports by an authorized administrator of CREATE Research Archive. For more information, please contact gribben@usc.edu. A BRIEF ANALYSIS OF THREATS AND VULNERABILITIES IN THE MARITIME DOMAIN1 N.O. BAKIR University of Southern California, Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE) 3710 McClintock Avenue, RTH 322, Los Angeles, CA 90089-2902 USA Abstract The attacks of September 11 have exposed the vulnerability of the American homeland against terrorism. Terrorists have already expressed their intentions to continue their aggression towards United States. Their goal is to incur maximum economic damage, inflict mass casualty, spread unprecedented fear among citizens and thus destabilize the nation to further their agenda. Many critical sites lay across US maritime borders, all of which could be potential targets to accomplish these goals. All these sites are simple elements of a complex body where the vulnerability of the whole system is a function of the vulnerability of the weakest element against an adaptive adversary. Ports, nuclear facilities, LNG facilities, urban areas, bridges, chemical...
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...Thailand marked the establishment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). As the regional organization, the top priority of ASEAN is to accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region. Later on other countries in the region also joined this organization as follows; Brunei Darussalam in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) in 1997, and Cambodia in 1999. The ten-member organization is enhancing partnership, not only nations in the region, but also outside the region, especially with the United States (US). The relationship between ASEAN and the US has entered its fourth decade of partnership. Since the first engagement in 1977, both sides have experienced the ups and down of partnership. This relationship will become more significant as it broadens the sectors of partnership in the future. Initially, starting with economic and development cooperation, the enhanced relationships, with cooperation on politic, regional security, counter terrorism and transnational crimes, has achieved a new era of “comprehensive partnership.” For the next decade, regional development in Asia Pacific will require the partnership to become more comprehensive. Several key issues in the region will become the major consideration for the next type of partnership. Some issues exist in Asia Pacific region. These are economic development, environmental issues, transnational crime and terrorism, legal cooperation, immigration, drugs, the rise of...
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...Using two or three examples, critically examine the roles the USA and Southeast Asian states have played in Australia's security. Australia’s security has been shaped through an alliance with the US and the collective strategy towards the war on terror. Australian security policy has been further developed following the international response after the events of September 11, 2001. The implementation of anti-terror laws provided Australian Security Agencies with extra powers need to investigate and detain those who threaten Australia, its people or interests. These Security Agencies experienced substantial budget increases to further develop capabilities in the fight against terrorism. Regional stability throughout South East Asia provides a challenge for Australian foreign security policy. Australia’s geographical proximity to Southeast means Australia has an invested interest in maintaining stability through strong ties with states such as Indonesia. This essay will critically state how the US and South East Asia have shaped Australian security with an international response against terrorism. Over the past 60 years Australia and the US have formed an alliance to combat those who pose threat to global security. The alliance was constitutionally formalized in 1951 with the signing of the ANZUS Treaty (US Department of State, 2011). The signing of the treaty binds Australia and the United States to consult on mutual threats and act upon common dangers. The agreement...
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...What are the roots of Jemaah Islamiyah? How are South East Asian States working to combat terrorism? What should the role of the U.S. be? It is believed that the roots of Jemaah Islamiyah, whose name means Islamic Group in Arabic, can be traced back in the late 1940s when Darul Islam emerged in the Indonesian republic to oppose the post-colonial rule of the Dutch. In the eyes of the Muslims, the rule is too secular. It is assumed that Jemaah Islamiyah is a revival of Darul Islam. In their attempt to create an Islamic fundamentalist regime in Southeast Asia, the group along with their leader S. Kartosuwirvo waged a fierce armed revolt against the central government of West Java between the years 1948 to 1962. A rebel leader in South Sulawes named Kahar Muzakkarm who has the same ideal of having an Islamic state later joined the group. The insurgency consumed much of the country’s military which resulted to its downfall. A man named Abu Bakar Bashir who joined Darul Islam in 1970 and shares the same ideal of an Islamic State was responsible for the creation of a certain boarding school in Java whose motto was "Death in the way of Allah is our highest aspiration." It attracted the poor and oppressed who were then trained in preparation for the revolution. Unluckily, Bashir was imprisoned for Islamist Activism due to this revolution attempt. To escape from his prison sentence, Bashir fle to Malaysia and became a religious teacher. He taught and preached the ideology of an...
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...a half after his involvement with the World Trade Center attacks. He developed a plan to attack twelve United States airliners in within Southeast Asia, which were in route to the United States. Within his plan Yousef (D) would have five accomplices board different airliners, assemble the bombs and then depart the aircraft on the first scheduled layovers. These explosive devices that were planned on being used were to be timed devices so the accomplices would activate these timed devices when they departed the airliners. This plot to attack these United States airliners was uncovered in January 1995 just two weeks prior to when Yousef (D) and his accomplices planned on carrying out the attack. Prior proceedings: Yousef (D) was charged in two separate proceedings, the first trial was for conspiracy to bomb twelve United States commercial airliners in Southeast Asia. The second trial was for his involvement with the 1993 World Trade Center bombing attacks. Issues presented or questions of law: The issue presented in this case where that Yousef (D) believed that he was brought to the United States against his will from Pakistan. Arguments or objectives of the parties: Yousef (D) claimed that the U.S government surpassed their authority when they brought him on trial in the United States for crimes in which occurred in Southwest Asia even thought their were United States airliners. Holding/rule of law: The findings were that the United States government did not surpass...
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...Inside Southeast Asia Internal Political Challenges, Inter-State Conflicts and Regional Security Southeast Asia has been one of the most vibrant regions in recent years. This resilient and dynamic region is one of the major hubs at the heart of Asia and is likely to play a significant role in the rising Asia. It can help shape and evolve the larger regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific region. Inside Southeast Asia, the internal political and social systems and the interaction between the two have created an interesting mix of hope, challenges and threats at the national, bilateral and regional levels. Besides, with the ongoing economic integration and political and security cooperation with regional powers, the regional organization-ASEAN seeks to balance these relations with the proliferation of new powers. The Institute of Peace & Conflict Studies (IPCS), as an independent research institute and a leading think-tank, explores what is happening in Southeast Asia today. The Southeast Asia Research Programme (SEARP) at the Institute monitors these internal issues in the region on a regular basis and further intends to convert the process into a annual meet to understand the dynamics of the current issues, challenges and problems in Southeast Asia. Three themes have been identified in the region which need immediate attention– Internal political challenges, inter-state conflicts and ASEAN and regional security. Theme-I Internal Political Challenges The primary security...
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...By Gerald Cruz Diplomatic Agenda of Philippine Presidents Diplomacy is an important instrument of all sovereign states. It is the conduct of official relations between states by peaceful means. It sometimes extends to a state’s relationship with its vassal state. The Philippines as a sovereign state make use of diplomacy in dealing with other countries. As a state with presidential system of government, the diplomatic agenda and the policy foreign of the Philippines is the responsibility of the executive branch of government subject to the usual oversight functions of the legislative and judicial branches of government. The President, being the head of state, is primarily responsible in foreign policy and diplomacy which is being exercised through the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the entire Foreign Service. Every Philippine President has their own diplomatic agenda that they pursued during their term in office. The Philippines was granted “independence” in 1946, right after the Second World War, the Philippines soon enters into diplomatic relations. Being the head of a new state born after the destructive war, then President Manuel Roxas faced tremendous tasks in diplomacy. There is the challenge of forming relations with other states and making them recognize the independence of the Philippines. One important achievement of this period is the involvement and participation of the Philippines in the formation and operation of the United Nations. The Philippines...
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...Terrorism by the Egyptian Islamic Jihad Brandin P. Lea SCTY 488 – Terrorism and Homeland Security December 26, 2010 Professor Eric Witcher Abstract It has been the case that over the duration that mankind has graced the planet there has been group’s hell bent on enacting their beliefs and values upon the rest of the world. As time has passed there have been many times that these groups have changed the face of the planet permanently. You can look at any organized religious group and see just how they pushed the belief system onto others to spread their ideology. Now, taking into consideration that fundamentalism and militant groups are nothing new, you can see that it still affects society greatly even today. Let us look at the main group I am focusing on in this paper. The Egyptian Islamic Jihad is one of the most influential fundamentalists groups in the Middle East. Similar to other terrorist groups, the religious intensity factor of a particularly violent kind is pointing solely to Islam, even when religious frenzies are spreading remarkably everywhere. A retreat into religion became the way most Islamic communities could be explained, from Saudi Arabia which, with what was supposed to be a peculiarly Islamic logic, refused to ratify the Camp David Accords, all the way to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Egypt. In this way, researchers underline that the Islamic world is differentiated, in the Western mind generally, in the United States in particular, from regions...
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...Western Countries such as the United States, Australia, and France. Those who were left in Laos were less fortunate. Many of them were sent to re-education camps as political prisoners. These camps tortured Hmong people, and several were executed by Phatet Lao officials. They were also subjected to hard physical labor and lived in harsh conditions. Those who were not captured into these camps moved their families to the mountainous peaks of Laos, where they hoped to escape the political unrest. Culturally, the Hmong have a highly patriarchal structure where honor and family reputation are the focus to a happy and successful life. Families desire sons to carry on the family surname throughout generations. In the past, while living in Southeast Asia most families could only afford to send their sons to school, while daughters, including daughter in-laws were responsible for household chores and farming the land. When a girl marries into a family, she is responsible for all household duties, and in order to get married the groom must pay a bridal price. The bridal price usually this consists of livestock, goods, jewelry, and money. To determine this price, elders from both the groom and bride’s family negotiate how much a bride is worth. The negotiation includes her family’s reputation, her education, if she can cook and clean, and so forth. When a Hmong woman marries a man, she takes his last name and marries into his family and clan. Once married, she is considered part of her...
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...Introduction A threateningly armed political authority has established its roots in the Middle East. In June 2014, the Islamic State which sometimes calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) or the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shram (ISIS) announced its establishment on the world politics (Lister, 2014). The organization is led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi who declared himself the Caliph. On his announcement, al-Baghdadi assumed the title of the Commander of the faithful Caliph Ibrahim II. Islamic State aspires to unite all Muslims in one state. According to the jihadists, this is only possible through a caliphate in which ISIS is closest to achieving. The difficulty of the formation of the caliphate is the harsh opposition the group obtains from the Shias who are a fifth of all the Muslims. Such oppositions had already been observed in the history of Islamic schism (Lister, 2014). ISIS ideological appeal has worked in its favor to recruit its fighters all over the world. The strategy has also resulted to some supports from Muslim countries such as Pakistan. Nonetheless, the group has unspeakable violence majorly directed to Christians and the Shias. This paper conducts an in-depth analysis of the Islamic State regarding its evolution, modus operandi in terms of its operations and recruitment. The paper then assesses the impacts and threats of the group not only in the Middle East, but also world-wide. Literature Review The Islamic State has made great...
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...but also very real political, social, religious, and economic factors, among others. These factors vary widely”. Accordingly, the motivations, goals, and ideologies of ethnic separatist, anarchist, social revolutionary, religious fundamentalist, and new religious terrorist groups differ significantly. (Hudson, 1999) Therefore, each terrorist group must be examined within its own cultural, economic, political, and social context in order to better understand the motivations of its individual members and leaders and their particular ideologies. (Federal Research Division, Library of Congress, 1999, para. 54) I will use Hudson’s assertion as my theoretical framework to analyze if my findings are compatible with a plausible assertion that terrorism is based off social and political views of the people who see their current state as unjust. The National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional or ELN) is a revolutionary guerrilla army; who have fought in the Colombian Civil War since it began in 1964. The ELN advocate a composite Communist ideology of Marxism and Liberation Theology. The ELN was founded by Fabio Vásquez Castaño and other Colombian rebels trained in Communist Cuba; upon the Vásquez Castaño death, the ELN was headed by a series of Roman Catholic priests, exponents of Liberation Theology. (Brittain, 2010) Most notable was the Priest Camilo Torres Restrepo, a university professor, egalitarian and Marxist, who was openly critical of the grossly unequal distribution...
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...Terrorism has no internationally agreed-upon definition, but essentially, terrorists are ideologically motivated and use violence against civilians to create panic and fear, in hopes of changing policies or laws. While there is no international definition of terror, there are many different types, and the following will demonstrate the dizzying array terrorist practices. Firstly there is civil disorder. It can range from protesting legally to illegally lambasting the government. Different countries allow for different levels of dissent, but in some peaceful assembly is considered terrorism. Truly destructive forms of terrorism are political, quasi political, and religious. Political terrorists attack in hopes of changing policies, usually in reference to color, creed, or profession. Quasi political terrorism is the use of terrorist tactics for personal gain. For instance, taking a hostage is terrorizing someone, but it is not an action designed to enact wide scale change. Lastly, religious terrorism focuses on proliferating ones belief at the cost of others. Overall, terrorism is unjust and cruel; we must take stand against it. Terrorism flies in the face of diplomatic process, purposefully disrupting peace and safety in order to achieve a goal. Many terrorists consider a mission successful if hundreds of helpless, innocent women and children lie bloody in the street. A popular terrorist attack is to set off a relatively small bomb, and kill say, 30 people, and detonate a far...
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...Instead, the focus should now be on “Human Security”, where the referent is the individual. States have listened and issues such as the environment, the economy and transnational crime have been securitized under the increasingly broad umbrella of “non-traditional security (NTS) issues”. There is a utility to this approach as it prioritizes an issue in policy hierarchy and puts it on the fast track for resolution. However, the premise of human security also opens the door for just about any issue to be securitized. In such a scenario, which issue should be prioritized and on what grounds is one issue more important than another? In this essay I argue that the utility of this approach comes with caveats and preconditions and that for Southeast Asia and ASEAN, the focus on NTS opens doors for cooperation to deal with problems that require multilateral solutions while at the same time moving the region towards the realization of a true Security Community. Copenhagen School: Nuts and Bolts, Pros and Cons. The basic premise of the Copenhagen School of securitization is that the realm of security studies should not be about a single-minded focus on states and military power. Rather, the individual should be looked at as the referent. Pioneers of the concept like Buzan argue that security is about dealing with existential threats posed to the referent object that has a legitimate claim to survival and that what defines security is socially constructed. There are 2 players in the process...
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...by Dato' Tony Fernandes in 2001. In December 2001, Fernandes and his partners set up Tune Air Sdn Bhd (Tune Air), an airline holding company then bought over AirAsia. Now, AirAsia has become one of the most successful airlines in the Southeast Asian region and the pioneer of low cost and no frills travel in Malaysia. The airline now flies to over 40 destinations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Macau, China, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. AirAsia has formed 2 successful joint ventures in Thailand through Thai AirAsia, and Indonesia through AWAIR. Starting from 2 aircraft till now AirAsia owns 28 and has carried more than 223 millions guest through its low fares travel. 2.0 External Environment Analysis 2.1 Political Flying outside Malaysia is difficult. Bilateral agreement is one of the obstacles in the way of truly pan-Asia budget carriers. Landing charges at so-called "gateway airports" and navigation charges are often prohibitively expensive, and in key destinations like Bangkok, Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore there are no cheaper, secondary airports. The budget airline industry in south-east Asia has been underdeveloped because the aviation market is tightly regulated by bilateral air rights agreements. Threat of terrorism, people is afraid to fly after the September 11 terrorist attacks...
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