Residents of Khoksator, a village in southern Thailand’s insurgency-ridden Narathiwat province, watch police investigate the scene where an eight-year-old boy and three relatives were shot dead on their way to school, March 2, 2017.

Thailand, BRN Rebels are Far Apart on Key Issues in Peace Talks

Insurgents’ demand for autonomy is “absolute non-starter” for the Thai government, analyst Zachary Abuza says.

Anti-coup protesters run around a makeshift barricade they burn to form a defense line during a demonstration in Yangon, Myanmar, March 28, 2021.

2021: Myanmar’s Post-Coup Bloodshed Eclipsed Other Conflicts, Violence in Southeast Asia

Analyst Zachary Abuza reviews some of the year’s key developments on the regional security landscape.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni (in hat) and Wang Yang, China’s third vice prime minister, inaugurate a Chinese-funded 51-km expressway linking Uganda’s capital to the international airport at Entebbe, June 15, 2018.

Debt-trapped: Sri Lanka, Laos, and now Uganda?

Southeast Asia should take note of the potential takeover of Uganda’s international airport by Chinese lenders, analyst Zachary Abuza argues.

A screen showing the Malaysiakini website is pictured at its headquarters in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia, Feb. 19, 2021.

Ressa’s Nobel Highlights Declining Media, Internet Freedom in SE Asia

Two recent reports by watchdogs make clear just how bad the situation is becoming.

Taliban Return May Revitalize Southeast Asian Terrorist Groups

Afghanistan has always played a part in the development of terrorist networks in Southeast Asia.

Malaysian Customs officials display 1,187 kilograms of seized methamphetamine, valued at 71 million ringgit ($17.8 million), during a news conference in Nilai, Malaysia, May 28, 2018.

Thriving Synthetic-Drug Trade Threatens Governance in SE Asia

Economic fallout from pandemic, combined with post-coup crisis in Myanmar, will feed production of methamphetamines, analyst Zachary Abuza warns.

Soldiers hold positions next to an Indonesian Air Force F-16 during the Jalak Sakti military exercise at the Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base in Blang Bintang in Indonesia’s Aceh province, Sept. 8, 2020.

Money-Saving Approach to Modernizing Arsenals Could Cost SE Asian Nations

From 2016 to 2020, seven ASEAN states were among the top 40 importers of military weapons and hardware.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a short course for chief secretaries of city and county party committees, in Pyongyang, in a photo taken on March 4, 2021 and released the next day by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency.

Petulant Pyongyang Ticks off Putrajaya

Malaysia’s decision to extradite a North Korean national to the United States to face criminal charges angers the Hermit Kingdom.

Myanmar citizens hold a picture of leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside the United Nations venue in Bangkok after the Myanmar military seized power in a coup, Feb. 2, 2021

In Power Grab, Myanmar’s Generals Deal Rohingya Coup de Grâce

Repatriation of the refugees huddling in Bangladesh now is “all but impossible” in the short-term, analyst Zachary Abuza says.

Indonesian military personnel conduct search operations to root out suspected MIT militants in Central Sulawesi province in Indonesia, Dec. 1, 2020.

Thanks to COVID-19, Region Saw Less Violence in 2020

However, there are troubling trends to look out for in 2021, security expert Zachary Abuza argues.

Indonesian security personnel patrol the perimeter of Gunung Sindur prison in Bogor where radical cleric and former Jemaah Islamiyah emir Abu Bakar Bashir is jailed, Jan. 22, 2019.

Indonesia: Jemaah Islamiyah is Back

JI, which was blamed for the country's deadliest terror attack, had refrained from violence after a 2011 bombing.

Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, gestures after casting his vote in Maguindanao province, Philippines, during the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law, Jan. 21, 2019.

Philippines: Extended Bangsamoro Transition Reasonable, but Risky

The request could undermine the regional peace process if mishandled, commentator says.

Muhammad Rizieq Shihab, the leader of Indonesian Islamic Defenders’ Front, is greeted by supporters in Tanah Abang, Jakarta, Nov. 10, 2020.

Cleric’s Homecoming Spells Trouble for Indonesia

The clout of Muhammad Rizieq Shihab’s Islamic Defenders’ Front can be felt nationwide and in politics.

Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto salutes to honor guard during a visit to Malaysia’s Ministry of Defense in Kuala Lumpur, Nov. 14, 2019.

Indonesia: Pak Prabowo Goes to Washington

Prabowo Subianto, a former electoral rival to President Widodo, is now his defense minister but alleged ties to past human rights abuses trail him.

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abuza.jpgDr. Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College, and an adjunct professor in the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, both in Washington. His focus is Southeast Asian politics and security issues, including governance, insurgencies, democratization and human rights, and maritime security.

He is the author of five books, including Conspiracy of Silence: The Insurgency in Southern Thailand (2008), Political Islam and Violence in Indonesia (2006), Militant Islam in Southeast Asia (2003), and Renovating Politics in Contemporary Vietnam (2001). His latest book, Forging Peace in Southeast Asia: Insurgencies, Peace Processes, and Reconciliation, is a comparative analysis of the peace processes in Aceh, Mindanao, and southern Thailand (2016).

In addition, he has authored four monographs on security issues in Southeast Asia, as well as a major survey on the media and civil society in Vietnam for the National Endowment for Democracy.

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