Category: ASEAN

TEMPO Marks 50 With the End of an Era

Posted by Asia Views | Mar 9, 2021 | Insight, Viewpoints | 0 |

Power, Politics & Corruption

Posted by Asia Views | Feb 6, 2021 | Insight, Viewpoints | 0 |

DO OR DIE DEMOCRACY

Posted by AsiaViews | May 14, 2019 | Insight, Viewpoints | 0 |

CAMBODIA:FOUR CITIES, ONE STRATEGY

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Cambodia, Opinions, Social Issues, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Heemin Shin Khmer Times-July 23, 2026 Concentrating all growth in Phnom Penh is a national...

INDONESIA’S ECONOMY IS STARTING TO LOSE THE CONFIDENCE GAME

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Business & Economy, Indonesia | 0 |

By Winarno Zain The Jakarta Post-July 20 Faced with a plummeting rupiah and shifting global...

INDONESIA:TIME FOR INDONESIA TO BUILD A NEW COALITION OF MIDDLE POWERS

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Indonesia, Opinions, Politics, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Abdul Kadir Jailani The Jakarta Post-Jul 23, 2026 As global superpowers clash and fracture the...

MYANMAR:HOW CHINA BUILT A ‘KILL SWITCH’ INTO MYANMAR’S POWER GRID

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Myanmar, Opinions, Politics, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Thurein Lynn The Irrawaddy-July 22, 2026 When observers look at Beijing’s footprint in Myanmar,...

MYANMAR:ASEAN’S PUPPET SHOW: ‘CALIBRATED RE-ENGAGEMENT’ LETS MYANMAR’S REGIME PULL THE STRINGS

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Myanmar, Opinions, Politics, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Win Min The Irrawaddy-July 23 For the first time in five years, the Myanmar regime’s foreign...

PHILIPPINES:TURNING A NATION INTO THE PUNCHLINE

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Opinions, Philippines, Politics, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Eleanor Pinugu Philippine Daily Inquirer-July 20, 2026 On July 10, China Daily’s Facebook page...

SINGAPORE’S AVERAGE WEALTH IS CLIMBING, BUT THERE’S A CATCH

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Business & Economy, Opinions, Singapore, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Vikram Khanna The Straits Times-July 23, 2026 The rich are getting richer because they have...

THAILAND:REFUGEE MANAGEMENT NEEDS MORE WORK

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Opinions, Social Issues, Thailand, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Vitit Muntarbhorn The Bangkok Post-July 20, 2026 Thailand has provided a safe haven to large...

THAILAND:AI WON’T TRANSFORM THAILAND’S ECONOMY

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Business & Economy, Opinions, Thailand, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Ilada Pitsuwan The Nation-July 24, 2026 The current AI boom has triggered a wave of investment...

VIETNAM IS READY TO MEET THE MIDDLE POWER MOMENT

by Asia Views | Jul 29, 2026 | ASEAN, Opinions, Politics, Vietnam, Viewpoints | 0 |

By Nicholas Chapman East Asia Forum-July 22, 2026 As the rules-based order fragments and US–China...

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

Category: ASEAN

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