The Return of Sophisticated Maritime Piracy to Southeast Asia

What explains the recent (perhaps temporary) resurgence of sophisticated maritime pirate attacks in Southeast Asia in the face of strong regional counter-piracy efforts? Given Southeast Asian countries' relatively well-functioning institutions, political, economic, and conflict-related explanations for the return of piracy are incomplete. As an innovative extension to structural arguments on piracy incidence, we take an approach that focuses on adaptation by the pirates themselves, using incident-level data derived from the International Maritime Organization to track how sophisticated pirate organizations have changed what, where, and how they attack. In response to counter-piracy efforts that are designed to deny pirates the political space, time, and access to economic infrastructure they need to bring their operations to a profitable conclusion, pirates have adapted their attacks to minimize dependence on those factors. Within Southeast Asia, this adaptation varies by the type of pirate attack: ship and cargo seizures have shifted to attacks that move quickly, ignore the ship, and strip only cargo that can be sold profitably, while kidnappings involve taking hostages off ships to land bases in the small areas dominated by insurgent groups. The result is a concentration of ship and cargo seizures in western archipelagic Southeast Asia, and a concentration of kidnappings in areas near Abu Sayyaf Group strongholds.

The Use of Multitrack Diplomacy in The Liberation Of 10 Indonesian Ship Crew From The Abu Sayyaf Group 2016

Indonesia was again shocked by the events of ship hijacking and hostage-taking of 10 Indonesian ship crew by the Abu Sayyaf separatist group in the Southern Philippines. This is not the first time for Indonesia where its citizens are held hostage by separatists, but the success of the Indonesian government in releasing hostages from Abu Sayyaf's group is interesting to discuss because 10 Indonesian ship crew members who were hostages were able to be released less than 3 months after the hijacking, without ransom and without firing contact. So the question arises as to how Indonesia’s diplomacy strategy is in the release of 10 Indonesian ship crew from the Abu Sayyaf group? In answering the above questions, the writer used the concept of diplomacy, multi-track diplomacy, and peacemaking. The results of this study are the diplomacy strategy used by Indonesia is Total Diplomacy where in addition to running the first track diplomacy also runs second track diplomacy involving track two (non-governmental and professional actors) and track four (civilian population). Keywords: Indonesian Diplomacy, Abu Sayyaf, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Total Diplomacy

Philippines risks alienating Mindanao island’s Muslims

Significance Misuari’s faction of the MNLF has expressed little support for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the interim government of the fledgling Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Before end-December, Duterte will also decide whether to seek an extension of martial law on Mindanao to help combat the Islamic State (IS)-aligned Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Impacts Ending martial law on Mindanao would lead to an increase in local attacks by communist insurgents as well as Islamist militant groups. Within the Mindanao island group, the Sulu archipelago will be at the highest risk of militant attacks. A lack of progress in rebuilding Marawi city will make the ethnic Maranao more hostile to the Duterte administration and Philippine army.

Abu Sayyaf Group di Filipina Selatan setelah Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

Filipina awal tahun 2019 diwarnai referendum di Filipina Selatan yang mengantarkan pada dibentuknya Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Konflik, instabilitas kawasan, dan perkembangan ancaman terorisme di Filipina Selatan khususnya dan umumnya di seluruh Filipina diharapkan berakhir dengan sebuah konsensus damai dan demokratis seiring terbentuknya pemerintahan transisi di BARMM. Harapan terciptanya perdamaian dengan keberadaan BARMM dalam tulisan ini dikaji secara spesifik dari salah satu kelompok teror yang berkembang di kawasan Filipina Selatan, Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Keberadaan ASG pada mulanya merupakan dampak kekecewaan usaha perjanjian damai yang diinisiasi pemerintah dan kelompok teror terbesar saat itu Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), seiring dengan perkembangan waktu kelompok ASG bertransformasi menjadi sebuah kelompok kriminal dengan modus operandi penculikan dan permintaan tebusan, sekalipun tidak sepenuhnya meninggalkan posisi awalnya sebagai kelompok teror dengan kehendak separatis ideologis. Penelitian ini berusaha menjawab potensi dampak yang muncul pada ASG dengan dibentuknya BARMM di kawasan Filipina Selatan. Sayangnya opsi-opsi melemah dan bubarnya ASG yang disebabkan oleh keberadaan BARMM hanya dapat terjadi bila tercipta good governance dan penyelesaian persoalan dasar seperti kemiskinan dan potensi radikalisasi yang terus berkembang. Jawaban dari masa depan ancaman teror ASG di Filipina Selatan akhirnya tergantung seberapa besar penguasaan wilayah, penegakan hukum, dan pengentasan kemiskinan di Filipina Selatan. Kata-kata kunci: Abu Sayyaf Group, Filipina Selatan, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Early 2019 in the Philippines was marked by a referendum in Southern Philippines which led to establishment of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Conflict, regional instability, and terrorism threats development especially in Southern Philippines and generally in all over Philippines are expected to end with a peaceful and democratic consensus as transitional government has formed already in the BARMM. The hope of creating peace with the presence of BARMM in this paper is specifically examined from one of terror group in the Southern Philippines region, the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). The existence of the ASG was initially a result of disappointment caused by peace agreement efforts initiated by Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) the largest terror group at that time, along with its development the ASG Group transforming into a criminal group with kidnapping and ransom as their main modus operandi, but not completely abandoned its initial position as a ideological terror group with separatism agenda. This research seeks to address the potential impacts of BARMM establishment in the Southern Philippines region to the development of ASG Group. Unfortunately, the options to weaken and to liquidate ASG caused by the presence of BARMM can only occur if good governance is created and the basic problems such as poverty in the region are resolved. The answer to the future of ASG terror threat in the Southern Philippines ultimately depends on how much territorial control, law enforcement, and poverty alleviation process in the Southern Philippines. Keywords: Abu Sayyaf Group, Southern Philippines, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Moro Muslims In Southern Phillippines: The Rise of Abu Sayyaf and the Genealogy of Conflict In Southeast Asia

The main problem of Moro Muslims in Southern Philippines are now the right to self-determination but it also include poverty, underdevelopment, low education, unemployment, discrimination, and violent conflict. Upon the Spanish colonization for more than three centuries (1521-1898), the Moros were controlled by the United States for almost five decades (1898-1942). Japan colonised them for three years before they were integrated to the Republic of Philippines in 1946. Their struggle for independence still continues today represented by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), establihsed in the late 1960s and led by Nur Misuari, and by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) led by Salamat Hasyim in 1981. The birth of the MILF was a response to dissatisfaction with the MNLF that was considered less assertive in fighting for Bangsamoro's rights and too accommodative to the Philippine government. In early 1990s, Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) led by Abdulrajak Janjalani emerged to respond the situation. In later development, it rises to become a prominent group involved in a long-standing conflict and terror in this landmark of Southeast Asia region.

Maritime Terrorism Network: Threat and Security in Contemporary Southeast Asia

<p>Southeast Asia is a region that is vulnerable to terrorism. Of the total terrorism cases that occurred in the world, 50 percents occurred in this region. Mindanao is one of the regions in Southeast Asia that since a long time ago has been the basis of world-class terrorism. This situation is getting worse due to the presence of terrorist groups with a strong tradition of maritime piracy. The nexus between terrorism and piracy makes the issue of maritime terrorism in Southeast Asia a regional security concern. Abu Sayyaf Group is a terrorist group in the Southern Philippines that is very well-known but difficult to map. This makes the Abu Sayyaf a source of prolonged tension in the Southern Philippines in particular and in the Southeast Asia region in general. This study is a field observation that uses descriptive analysis to reveal the details of the Abu Sayyaf and the issue of terrorism in Mindanao.</p>