ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews insurgent and terrorist groups operating in the Philippines, Indonesia, and southern Thailand. It delineates groups by country, profiling both historical and active militant organizations. It argues that while the outlook in Southeast Asia has improved considerably from the years immediately following 9/11—when there was a genuine concern that the region could morph into a new beachhead for transnational terrorism—significant risks remain. Poor governance, weak states, corruption, porous borders, a relatively sophisticated communication and transport infrastructure, and an abundance of small arms all help to create fertile ground for militant non-state entities to rest, train, move, plan, and attack. As long as this physically enabling environment exists, Southeast Asia will remain vulnerable to outbursts of extremist ethnic, religious, and political violence, particularly when such a setting serves to aid and abet pre-existing domestic conflicts.
