Indonesia Ranked Third Worst in Asia Pacific for Terrorism Cases

According to the Global Terrorism Index (GTI), the Philippines experienced the most severe terrorism in the Asia-Pacific region.

The GTI defines terrorism as the systematic threat or use of violence by non-state actors, aimed at communicating a specific political, religious, or ideological message by inducing fear and attempting to change societal behavior.

The GTI measures the impact of terrorism based on four indicators: the number of incidents, the number of fatalities, injuries, and property damage resulting from terrorist acts in each country.

These indicators are then processed into a score ranging from 0-10. The higher the score, the more severe the impact of terrorism in that country is considered to be.

In 2021, the Philippines received a GTI score of 6.790. This is the highest figure in the Asia-Pacific region, ranking 16th out of 163 surveyed countries. The number of deaths due to terrorist acts in the Philippines reached 53 in 2021, a decrease from 97 the previous year.

Thailand followed with a GTI score of 5.723, placing it 2nd in the Asia-Pacific region and 22nd globally. According to the GTI, there were 7 deaths due to terrorism in Thailand in 2021. However, cumulatively, terrorism in Thailand has claimed 776 lives between 2011 and 2021.

Indonesia was the third worst-affected country in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2021, Indonesia received a GTI score of 5.5 points and ranked 24th globally.

According to the GTI, the number of terrorist attacks in Indonesia in 2021 decreased by 24%, but the number of fatalities increased by 85%. In 2021, there was an average of 1.5 deaths per terrorist attack in Indonesia, compared to 0.6 deaths per attack the previous year.

"Most terrorist attacks in Indonesia originated from separatist groups such as the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) and the Free Papua Movement (OPM). ISIS/IS also claimed responsibility for two attacks that resulted in the deaths of four farmers in 2021," according to the GTI report.

On Wednesday, December 7, 2022, a suicide bombing occurred at the Astana Anyar Police Station in Bandung. One police officer was reportedly killed in the incident.

Following Indonesia, the other Asia-Pacific countries most affected by terrorism were New Zealand with a GTI score of 4.376, Australia 2.438, Malaysia 2.247, and China 1.863 points. Japan also had a GTI score of 1.46, while Vietnam and Taiwan scored 0.407 and 0.227 points, respectively.