countering isis in southeast asia : asean s efforts...

Talking ASEAN on “Countering ISIS in Southeast Asia” 18 February 2016

Countering ISIS in Southeast Asia : ASEAN’s

Efforts at the Regional Level

by Ibrahim Almuttaqi

“Countering ISIS in Southeast Asia: ASEAN’s

Efforts at the Regional Level”

A Ibrahim Almuttaqi

The Habibie Center

18 February 2016

Key Questions

• What threat is posed by the growing presence of ISIS

in Indonesia and Southeast Asia in general?

• What is the regional capacity to counter ISIS-linked

terrorist threats?

• What are the regional challenges and opportunities to

counter ISIS-linked terrorist threats?

Main Arguments

• The Southeast Asian region has faced the threat of

terrorism for many years. The growing presence of

ISIS is simply a continuation of previous terrorist

threat to the region.

• ASEAN as a regional organization has made a

number of efforts to counter such terrorist threats.

• However many challenges remain, which limit what

ASEAN can actually do at the regional level to

counter such terrorist threat.

Growing presence of ISIS – a new

threat?

• Over the past year ISIS has emerged as a major threat

to the ASEAN region

– Jakarta attack, January 14, 2016;

– Significant number of ISIS recruits from the region fighting

in Iraq and Syria;

– Calls for a ‘distant caliphate’ to be established in Southeast

Asia.


threat?

• Jakarta attack, January

14, 2016;

– Five blasts and an ensuing

gun-battle left 4 civilians

killed and dozens injured;

– Most serious terrorist attack

in Indonesia for years;

– ISIS later claimed

responsibility

“A group of soldiers of the caliphate in Indonesia targeted a gathering from the crusader alliance that fights the Islamic State in Jakarta” - ISIS


threat?

• ISIS recruits from the region fighting in Iraq and Syria; – Over 514 Indonesians (as of

March 2015);

– At least 50 Malaysians (as of December 2014) ;

– Even several from Cambodia;

– A number of Islamist groups in Southeast Asia have pledged allegiance to the ISIS including the notorious Abu Sayyaf Group in the Philippines.


threat?

• A ‘distant caliphate’ in Southeast Asia; – Competition between extremists in

Indonesia and the Philippines to be the centre of the ‘distant caliphate’;

– Rohan Gunaratna, RSIS, Singapore warned: “Shortly, ISIS will declare a satellite of the caliphate in the Sulu archipelago”;

– Australia’s Attorney General warned: “Isis has a declared intention to establish caliphates beyond the Middle East, provincial caliphates in effect. It has identified Indonesia as a location of its ambitions.”


threat?

• Despite the growing presence of ISIS, Southeast Asia is no stranger to acts of terrorism – Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and the Jakarta bombing of 2003, 2004

and 2009;

– In the Philippines, the terrorist group, Abu Sayyaf, have been responsible for kidnapping and in some cases beheading dozens of innocent civilians;

– In Thailand, the insurgency in the southern region of Patani has led to the deaths of over 3,500 civilians since 2004;

• ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime 1997 – ASEAN resolved to expand the “scope of Member Countries' efforts

against transnational crime such as terrorism”;

– Four years before the September 11 Attacks;

– Shows clearly the concern of ASEAN towards combating terrorism, even before the term had become popular following the US “War on Terror.”

Regional efforts to counter ISIS-linked

terrorist threats

• Building on from the 1997 Declaration, ASEAN member-states have made a

number of efforts to counter terrorism within the framework of ASEAN.

2001 ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism

2002 Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Terrorism

2002 ASEAN Declaration on Terrorism

2007 ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism

2014 ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on ‘the Rise of Violence and Brutality Committed

by Terrorist/Extremist Organizations in Iraq and Syria’

2015 Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Rise of Radicalization and Violent Extremism

2016 2016 ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Statement on the Terrorist Attack in Jakarta


terrorist threats

• 2001 ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism; – issued just months following the September 11th attack to

“Unequivocally condemn in the strongest terms the horrifying terrorist attacks…and consider such acts as an attack against humanity and an assault on all of us”;

– Declaration put forward nine practical measures including to “deepen cooperation among our front-line law enforcement agencies in combating terrorism” and sharing "best practices" as well as to “enhance information/intelligence exchange”;

– Disappointingly many of the practical measures were limited to promises to “review and strengthen”, to “study”, and to “discuss and explore” leading some to question the effectiveness of the Declaration.


terrorist threats

• 2002 ASEAN Declaration on Terrorism;

– Denounced the “heinous terrorist attacks in Bali, Indonesia, and in the Philippine cities of Zamboanga and Quezon” which together had claimed the lives of 216 civilians and injuring another 419 people.

– Stated that ASEAN is “determined to carry out and build on the specific measures outlined in the ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism.”

– The use of the word “determined to carry out” suggests that there were some specific practical measures from the 2001 ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism that had yet to be fully or maybe even partially implemented.


terrorist threats

• 2007 ASEAN issued the ASEAN Convention on Counter Terrorism; – provided the much needed framework to lay out specific practical measures

and to ensure its full implementation;

– Lays out 23 articles which covers a wide range of issues. These include:

• defining the term of “terrorism” (Article II - Criminal Acts of Terrorism);

• addressing the issue of sovereignty and non-interference (Article III - Sovereign Equality, Territorial Integrity and Non-Interference and Article IV - Preservation of Sovereignty);

• outlining areas of cooperation and the matter of extradition (Article VI – Areas of Cooperation and Article XIII – Extradition); &

• ensuring the implementation of the specific measures (Article XVI – Implementation, Monitoring and Review Fair Treatment).

– Only ratified by the 10 ASEAN member-states in 2013 = 6 years!


terrorist threats

• 2014 ASEAN Foreign Ministers Statement on ‘the

Rise of Violence and Brutality Committed by

Terrorist/Extremist Organizations in Iraq and Syria’;

– hailed by US Secretary of State John Kerry who praised ASEAN

for taking a strong stand against the Islamic State;

– HOWEVER criticism made of the “vagaries” of the Statement

which notably failed to mention the Islamic State by name;

• 2015 Special ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on the Rise

of Radicalization and Violent Extremism;

– ?????


terrorist threats

Challenges/Limits

• From the above, it is clear that efforts to counter the threat of terrorism within the framework of ASEAN have been met by a number of challenge, which limit what ASEAN can actually do at the regional level;

• J.T. Chow, University of Macau argued that ASEAN states often acted “independently” and that “even after the bombing of the Sari Club in Bali in October 2002, there was little substantial counterterrorism cooperation among the ASEAN states”;

• Chow further stated that cooperation “among the member states of this multilateral consortium…has proved elusive”.

Challenges/Limits

• How to account for the elusive cooperation?

– Lack of regional mindset when it comes to addressing

terrorism;

– Lack of political will/national sovereignty concerns;

– Different approaches to addressing terrorism among

ASEAN member-states

Challenges/Limits

• Lack of regional mindset when it comes to addressing terrorism; – Whilst on paper, the ASEAN

member-states recognise terrorism as a transnational issue, the member-states have nonetheless treated terrorism as a domestic issue.

– In 2002, the Singaporean Senior Minister, Lee Kuan Yew, criticised the Indonesian authorities for their failure to arrest the spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyaah, Abu Bakar Basyir, leading to a diplomatic war of words.

Diplomatic War of Words

‘Jakarta: S'pore is too

authoritarian to understand

us Indonesia's Foreign

Minister gets in jab at the

Republic, saying that in a

democratic system, terrorism

must be dealt with

differently’ – Strait Times

(2002, February 25)

‘Indonesia, Singapore at odds

on terror’ – The Australian

(2002, February 22)

Challenges/Limits

• Lack of political will/national sovereignty concerns;

– Some ASEAN member-states expressed some reluctance to ratify ASEAN efforts to counter terrorism

– Chow argues that there are concerns that cooperation between ASEAN countries may be considered as a violation of a state’s sovereignty

– Tellingly, Indonesia’s response to the recent attacks in Jakarta have seen efforts at revising the anti-terror law. Little discussion on increasing cooperation with other ASEAN member-states.

Reluctance to Ratify

ASEAN Convention on

Counter Terrorism

“We are discussing whether it

is necessary to ratify

international instruments”

- I Gede Ngurah Swajaya ,

then-Indonesian Politics and

Security Director for

ASEAN in 2008

Challenges/Limits

• Different approaches to addressing terrorism among ASEAN member-states – Disunity in the approach to combating terrorism can be seen in the

level of involvement of the military in counter-terror operations.

– In Thailand and the Philippines, where terrorism has been linked to long-standing insurgency movements, the military play a major role in countering terrorism.

– In contrast, in Malaysia and Singapore, where insurgency movements do not exist, it is the task of the police to combat terrorism.

– In the case of Indonesia, this task was initially the realm of the police but lately there have been suggestions for the military to take a more active role.

Conclusion

• The effort to tackle the growing presence of ISIS should not be separated from its efforts to counter the decades-long terrorist threat facing the Southeast Asian region;

• While ASEAN as a regional organization has made a number of efforts to counter such terrorist threats, it should learn from the shortcomings and failures from its efforts as it tries to address the threat of ISIS.

• In particular, it is important for ASEAN to ensure a common approach to countering terrorism, that takes into account regional mechanisms, and avoids narrow national interests/political concerns.

Thank You

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