Recent major terrorist attacks in Southeast Asia, including the Bangkok and Jakarta bombings, indicate a resurgence of terrorism in this region. While terrorism is a big threat to the national and regional security, its harm to the economy cannot be ignored.

Islamic State’s footprint has recently expanded to Southeast Asia, as shown by the terror attacks on 14 January in Jakarta. Countries in this region, including Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and 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.

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