What is being done to counter threats of maritime terrorism and how effective are the safeguards? The author presents evidence that Al-Qaeda aims to disrupt the seaborne trading system, the backbone of the model global economy, and would use a crude nuclear explosive device or radiological bomb to do so if it could obtain one and position it to go off in a port-city, shipping strait or waterway that plays a key role in international trade. Improving maritime trade is especially important for the US and Canada, member states of the EU, Australia and New Zealand and for China, Japan and South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and other East Asian economies that have extensive direct seaborne trade. It is doubly vital for places like Singapore, Hong Kong and Rotterdam that are not only very large global seaports but also giant giant container transshipment hubs. This book discusses some major threats to seaborne trade and its land links in the global supply chain, their potential impact and the new security measures in place or pending for ships, ports and cargo containers, and recommendations for preventing or handling a catastrophic terrorist attack designed to disrupt world trade.

A Time Bomb for Global Trade: Maritime-Related Terrorism in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Politics & Social Sciences

Richardson, Dr Michael

Social Sciences

ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute

Mind the GAPS: Singapore Business in China

China burst onto the world stage in the mid-1980s and in the past decade has been transformed into a giant magnet for FDI, attracting capital from all over the world. Everyone wants a piece of the China action. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the region of Southeast Asia, tucked as it is geographically beneath China's southern flank. Much of the FDI inflow into China has been at the expense of Southeast Asia. But this has been offset by new opportunities created through China's rapid economic expansion. This book provides an insightful and objective analysis on how to be successful in China, especially for Singapore businessmen. The authors have eloquently distilled several important lessons that have become apparent for business success in China.

Mind the Gaps: Singapore Business in China

Business & Money

Kumar, Sree

Siddique, Sharon

Wong, Yuwa Hedrick

Economics

Islam in Southeast Asia: Political, Social and Strategic Challenges for the 21st Century

This book looks at Islam and its strategic implications for Southeast Asia. Part I outlines Islamic doctrine and traces the history and growth of Islamic economic institutions in the region. In Part II, politics, governance, civil society and gender issues are examined in the context of Southeast Asian Islam. Part III devotes itself to the impact of modernization and globalization on Muslim society. Part IV examines and evaluates the impact of the 2001 terrorist attacks on the icons of the American superpower. The Conclusion offers some perspectives on the challenges and prospects for Islamic doctrine and practice in the context of Southeast Asia.

Religion & Spirituality

Islam

Realpolitik Ideology presents path-breaking research on the Indonesian military (TNI) going beyond traditional scholarship on the TNI's dual function or dwifungsi which has been one of the dominating fields of analysis in Indonesian studies since the 1970s. Addressed to political scientists, sociologists, historians, anthropologists and defence practitioners, this book interprets security policy in terms of its social roots asserting that the realpolitik behaviour of the TNI has strong "socio-cultural" undertones, which in turn shape the development of military doctrine. The argument made in the book is that only through a better understanding of the doctrines that reinforced the military's significant presence in Indonesian affairs and their subsequent restructuring can Indonesia's policy-makers attempt meaningful reform of the TNI. Readable, accessible and yet exhaustively researched, Realpolitik Ideology examines the origins and development of ideas on security from the point of view of the TNI and explains why civil-military relations are still fraught with uncertainty, and why the recent changes in military ideology, removal of military posts in the legislature, ongoing divestment of its business, and other measures still do not guarantee that the military will not intervene in the affairs of state. Among its many valuable contributions, this book details: . the background to Indonesian concepts of national security . internal operations and the weak infrastructural power of the state, with an excellent discussion on the intelligence agencies . concepts for external defence, according to the TNI, including Indonesia's important but little-known contribution to UN peacekeeping missions . defence and national security planning . the most recent laws relating to national security and the role of the military in Indonesia. Realpolitik Ideology offers suggestions about how to redefine concepts of national security to increase civil and democratic space and accountabilities and redress the historic imbalances between the civilian government and the military in Indonesia.

Realpolitik Ideology: Indonesia's Use of Military Force

Sebastian, Leonard C

Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia

This volume examines different ethnic configurations and conflict avoidance and resolution in five different Southeast Asian countries. *Tin Maung Maung Than traces the history and impossibility of the current Myanmar regime's quest to integrate the various ethnic groups in the border regions while insisting on a unitary state with all real power kept to themselves. *Rizal Sukma divides conflicts in Indonesia into horizontal (Kalimantan, Maluku and Sulawesi) and vertical ones (the Madurese versus the Dayaks) and assesses the prospects for peaceful resolution if the country's fledgling democracy does not properly address them. *Miriam Coronel Ferrer examines the conflicts in Mindanao against the apparent lack of willingness of Manila to come to terms with the root causes as well as the infusion of arms and ideology from outside. * Zakaria Haji Ahmad and Suzaina Kadir analyse Malaysia's relatively successful handling of an ethnically divided society, which has permitted impressive stability since 1969. * Chayan Vaddhanaphuti focuses on the non-Thai border peoples of northern Thailand, noting the legacy of the government's policy of selective citizenship. Ethnic Conflicts in Southeast Asia will be an invaluable resource for scholars of contemporary Southeast Asia as well as in other regions, policy-makers and others, who wish to assess and develop strategies to prevent, modulate and resolve such conflicts.

Teen & Young Adult

Education & Reference

This book documents the trends and challenges that are taking place in the more important sectors of Malaysia. The chapters, written by specialists with an intimate knowledge of the country, cover major topics such as population trends and patterns, Islam Hadhari, Bangsa Malaysia, politics and the 2004 general election, civil service reforms, corporate governance, educational reforms, the impact of globalisation on the economy, and Malaysia's relations with Singapore. Recent developments in these areas are likely to have a profound bearing on Malaysia and its neighbours in the years ahead. The book provides readers with a greater appreciation and a deeper understanding of Malaysia, which is undergoing significant changes and challenges.

Malaysia: Recent Trends and Challenges

Wards of Hanoi (IndoChina Unit)

In this book, the author marshals evidence to support an arena-specific approach towards viewing Vietnam's state-society relations. In practice, the Vietnamese party-state's relations with society vary from the hard and uncompromising state, with the bureaucracy getting its way, to society's ability to negotiate the state's boundaries and regimes to make them less harsh. Any analysis of Vietnam's state-society relations needs to recognize and demonstrate both elements of dominance and accommodation, as well as specify the context in which either or both are seen. Alone, neither is adequate. In particular, the idea of the "state" needs to be disaggregated because "state" is not a singular actor that is coherent or uniform through time and space. To demonstrate how state-disaggregation can make our view more nuanced, this book analyses state-society interaction at the ward level of Hanoi, an urban local authority.

Wards of Hanoi

Koh, David W H

There is a growing dialogue between India and Southeast Asia. From a marginal relationship during the Cold War days to the participation of India at the East Asia summit in December 2005 has been a long journey. In the context of the geopolitical situation in the Asia-Pacific in the post-September 11 period, the security dimension between India and Southeast Asia cannot be overemphasized. With the continued U.S. preponderance in the region and China's phenomenal rise, the countries of Southeast Asia and India have an opportunity to evolve a co-operative relationship not only with one another, but also with the major powers of the region. This book examines the areas of comprehensive security and the growing understanding between India and Southeast Asia where there is less divergence and greater convergence. The author argues that India-Southeast Asia security convergence is not and should not be aimed at any particular country. On an optimistic note he concludes that such convergence will contribute to creating harmony among the major powers of Asia to make the twenty-first century the "Asian century".

India and Southeast Asia: Towards Security Convergence

Devare, Sudhir

Politics & Government

<p>The Muslim communities of Southeast Asia are diverse, complex and increasingly influential in the broader Islamic world. However, the extraordinary breadth of practices and views across the Muslim world is not widely understood outside the region, often because of the difficulty of locating and putting in context the material produced by Muslims themselves. This is the first sourcebook to present a wide selection of contemporary materials on Islam in Southeast Asia, most of which have not previously been available in English. The material covers six broad themes: personal expressions of faith; Islamic law; state and governance; women and family; jihad; and interactions with non-Muslims and the wider Muslim world. The book looks at the ideological and doctrinal content of Islam in Southeast Asia in all its facets, while also exploring the motivations underlying different interpretations and viewpoints. This is an essential book for anyone seeking to understand the concerns, language and objectives of the main Muslim groups in Southeast Asia.</p>

Voices of Islam in Southeast Asia: A Contemporary Sourcebook

Talking about ASEAN, this volume reappraises the organization from the inside, through controversial or perplexing issues such as the ASEAN Way, the accession of the new members, including Myanmar, the principle of non-interference, regional security, regional economic integration, the haze and SARS, and ASEAN's future.

Southeast Asia in Search of an ASEAN Community

Severino, C Rodolfo

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Books by ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute