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The trend in the region generally has been towards a preponderance of conventional military spending at the expense of intelligence services. A case in point would be the strength of the Indonesian military, the TNI in contrast to it’s nearly non-existence of a central intelligence bureau. A similar situation is evident in the Philippines where the armed forces are regularly deployed against Islamic rebels in the South, with little or no covert operations. The nature of the terrorist threat being covert, governments of the region will now have to reassess military priorities.
Cognizant of the international and cross border nature of terrorism, Asia has to work closer not just within itself, but step up cooperation on an international level. Within Asia, bodies such as ASEAN have the capacity to monitor and stop terrorist funding and to provide mutual intelligence assistance. Internationally, governments of the region can cooperate with its counterparts like the European Union and the United States.
However, the extent of US assistance has to be sharply qualified. Much of the root of present day religious terrorism can be attributed to the continued US military presence in the Gulf States, especially Saudi Arabia. To allow a similar US buildup of forces in the region would only be stirring a hornet’s nest and might prove most counterproductive. This is not to say that US participation in Asia would be redundant; US intelligence in the Southern Philippines has been largely accredited for the fall in Abu Sayyaf attacks on government installations. However, this assistance, while effective in limited doses might cause long term resentment if extended to a full military presence. Thus, any US presence has to be limited to technical assistance of the kind provided in the Philippines.
These measures will to a large extent deal with the physical aspects of terrorism, but the true eradication of this threat will require undermining its ideological justification. To do this, Asian governments will have to shed their image of autocracy and heavy handedness. In many cases, armed insurgency is a result of disaffection with respective political systems that provide some sectors of society with little representation. Maoist rebels in Nepal came about as a result of opposition to the Royal family’s sweeping powers and many conflicts in present day Indonesia is a result of Suharto era repression. Thus, representation of the disenfranchised and the relaxation of oppressive policies alone have the power to sustain peace in the region, and eliminate the terrorist threat.
Thus, representation of the disenfranchised and the relaxation of oppressive policies alone have the power to sustain peace in the region, and eliminate the terrorist threat.
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Choo Zheng Xi
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