ABSTRACT
CONTENTS The Abu Sayyaf Group and Maritime Terrorism .................................... 149 Why Differentiate? .................................................................................. 150 The Philippines ....................................................................................... 154 ASG History ........................................................................................... 156 Why Piracy? ............................................................................................ 160 Recommendations................................................................................... 161 Conclusion.............................................................................................. 163 References ............................................................................................... 164
The Abu Sayyaf Group and Maritime Terrorism The phenomenon of international maritime terrorism has been somewhat neglected during the recent increase in antiterrorism awareness. This is a wrongheaded approach to combating terror; in that all possible scenarios should be investigated to ensure as complete a body of knowledge on the subject exists as is possible. Recent large-scale terrorist attacks, such as the Tokyo subway attack
carried out by the Aum Shinriko cult in 1995, as well as the attacks of September 11, 2001, have proven that modern transportation systems are viable as weapons systems for both sophisticated and unsophisticated terrorist organizations. Arguably, there are inherent tactical and logistical challenges involved in conducting terrorism in the maritime environment as opposed to on land. Even attacks via or against aircraft are comparably simpler. Aside from the inherent security screening process, the logistics of accessing an aircraft are exponentially simpler and safer than boarding a ship at sea.
