ISEA: A Threat Beyond the Philippines

ISEA: A Threat Beyond the Philippines

The Diplomat

Cindy Hannon

The threat of Islamic militants deploying terror tactics across Asia is growing stronger. Islamic State of East Asia (ISEA), originating in the Philippines,  has already emerged in Malaysia, Cambodia, and Vietnam, with ISEA claiming they also have influence in China and the United States. Authorities in these countries fear home-grown Islamic militants in league with Baghdadi and his Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will return and plot their own caliphate.

ISEA already has an established campaign of terror. They recently made headlines by bombing a mall in Haoni, killing 43. They are also responsible for kidnapping the Philippine Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, Mar Roxas, beheading an American Peace Corps worker, and taking 17 hostages at a school in the Philippines.  An American marine, captured and allegedly “brainwashed” by ISESA, also opened fire on a military base in Texas resulting in two confirmed deaths. The ISEA cell responsible is still at large but the authorities are working tirelessly to clamp down on the perpetrators and prevent the spread of the Islamic militancy into Vietnam.

Members of all these groups have apparently undergone weapons training and have been armed with the financial backing of groups throughout Asia. Family members of victims have called upon the world to retaliate against ISEA as the militant group grows bolder with their actions. There are fears that ISEA could grow as strong as its counterpart ISIS and begin to take over large swaths of land in Asia and lead to widespread death. Their rapid spread into other countries, such as Vietnam, appears to confirm these fears. There are also reports that ISEA is starting to train Uyghur forces in Western China.

The United States has already launched airstrikes on several ISEA strongholds throughout the Philippines. However, for the threat of ISEA to be neutralized, the United States must not face them alone. They require the assistance of other nations in Asia, and there are hopes that upcoming talks between major leaders will lead to joint military operations against ISEA.