Terrorism expands to Asia

Terror attacks in Jakarta, claimed by a group with links to IS, killed 7 people and wounded 20. Malaysia tightened its security after police arrested 4 suspects, one of which admitted to have been planning attacks in Kuala Lumpur. The suspect said he received order from IS members in Syria. Earlier, he hang IS flags in many places in Malaysia as a warning. Security has been tightened in public places and Malaysia is increasing border control to prevent terrorists from entering. South Korean police strengthened security at Gimpo international airport in Seoul after an international phone call threatened to explode all airports in South Korea. In the Philippines, local terrorist groups vowed loyalty to IS. These included the notorious Abu Sayyaf group, which carried out a series of kidnappings, distortions, and beheadings of hostages in the Philippines for many years. Local terrorist groups elected leader of the IS branch in the Philippines and announced the establishment of a Caliphate on Mindanao island. Many other Jihadi groups in Southeast Asia vowed loyalty to IS, including Jemaah Islamiah in Indonesia.

It is estimated that approximately 500 Indonesians and dozens of Malaysians are members of IS. A number of young people from Singapore have come to Syria to join IS. Singaporean authorities have arrested two young people for such intention. Beijing has been concerned over an increasing number of Chinese rebels joining IS. China is also worried that IS may infiltrate its western region, particularly Xinjiang, where Uyghur people used to join Islamic terrorist groups such as Al- Qaeda. In July last year IS for the first time  released a video footage calling on Uyghur people to join IS forces in Syria and Iraq.

IS now has approximately 30,000 gunmen and is under increased attacks by Russia and the US-led coalition. There are currently 3 international coalitions fighting IS led by the US, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. IS has chosen Asia to maintain its operations, posing a great challenge to security in this area.