Islamic State’s footprint has recently expanded to Southeast Asia, as shown by the terror attacks on January 14 in Jakarta. Countries in this region, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines, have been on high alert and stepped up safety measures against terrorism.

The Jakarta attacks represent the expansion of the IS to Southeast Asia, and clearly they will have other plots in the region. The regional governments should be prepared for future attacks and protect the region’s economy. One terrorist incident may not pose a direct and significant risk to the economy, but a series of attacks definitely will. Foreign tourists will be scared away and not come back in the short term. Foreign investors will lose their trust in a country or not feel secure to come to the whole region.

… Lee Chia-yi is assistant professor at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.