With the global media spotlight fixed on the Middle East, developments on the periphery of the global fight against terrorism can often go unnoticed – especially when they occur in a region that is already assumed to be ‘low risk.’ Southeast Asia is one such region, where high-profile attacks from major players over the past decade – players such as Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) – have steadily declined as national governments gained an upper hand.

Yet in many ways the regional security outlook has taken a turn for the worse lately, as the rise of Islamic State and its particularly violent strain of Islamic fundamentalism has emboldened new splinter groups to press the initiative in Southeast Asia.

These changes have not gone unnoticed by members of the intelligence community, many of whom have been sounding the alarm bell that the United States can’t continue to take the relative peace in countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines for granted.

Two disturbing trends are unfolding simultaneously. For one, Islamic State is drawing on these countries for recruitment in its ongoing fight in Syria and Iraq. The group has been known to distribute its recruitment rallying cries in the form of YouTube videos, such as the “Join the Ranks” clip released in early August. Hundreds of jihadists from Southeast Asian countries are confirmed to be fighting with Islamic State in the Middle East; 200 of which are thought to have originated from Indonesia alone.