Sutiyoso, Director of Indonesia's State Intelligence Agency (BIN), said authorities will closely monitor those Indonesians that return home after having joined the militant Islamic State in Syria. It is estimated that more than 100 Indonesians have traveled back to the Archipelago from Syria after having fought alongside the militant organization. Meanwhile, Indonesian policy is investigating a video that has been circulating on social media. This video displays a local terrorist group threatening to attack Indonesia's State Palace and Jakarta Policy headquarters.

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Today (28/07), Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is often referred to as Jokowi, went on his first state visit to Singapore where he will discuss trade, investment and bilateral issues with Singaporean President Tony Tan Keng Yam, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, and 150 Singaporean CEOs in a bid to enhance cooperation between both nations. President Widodo is accompanied by Indonesian Trade Minister Rachmat Gobel, Chief Economics Minister Sofyan Djalil, and Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, among others.

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In the past few days, American and Australian authorities announced to detect a high degree of potential terrorist attacks in Indonesia, reportedly related to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) movement. ISIS is an outlawed movement in Indonesia but does have sympathizers in the world’s largest archipelago containing the world’s largest Muslim population (about 210 million Muslims). Last Saturday (03/01), the US embassy issued a security warning for US-associated hotels and banks in the city of Surabaya (East Java).

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Seven suspected terrorists have been shot dead and 20 more have been arrested by Densus 88, Indonesia’s anti-terrorism squad, on Wednesday (08/05/13) during raids in Kendal (Central Java), Sumedang (West Java), Bandung and Banten. The suspects are believed to be part of a terrorist network that imported weaponry from the Philippines and engaged in violent robberies on bank branches of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) to fund various terrorist activities in Poso (Sulawesi).

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Today, Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) passed a new law that restricts financial transactions that are meant for the funding of terrorist or radical organizations. People or institutions engaged in such transactions will face up to 15 years in prison and fines up to US $10.5 million. Previously, Indonesia did not have a law that prevented such transactions. This new law is regarded as a good step for the battle against terrorism.

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On Tuesday (15/08) Indonesian Police arrested five suspected Islamic State (IS) sympathizers. Meanwhile, various bomb making chemicals were seized in the houses of the five suspected Islamic militants. The arrests and confiscation of materials occurred in the city of Bandung (West Java). The five arrests involve one married couple and three men.

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The 17-year-old Ivan Armadi who tried to kill a Catholic priest and detonate a self-made bomb during the Sunday service (28/08) in a church in Medan (North Sumatra) is one example of the Islamic State sympathizers that are present in Indonesia. Although the police investigation indicates that there are no direct links between Armadi and existing militant networks within Indonesia or abroad, the case shows that there are so-called "lone-wolves" in Indonesia who are inspired by radical Islamic doctrine and can learn to make bombs from the Internet.

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In an update on Thursday (25/02) Australian authorities advised the public to exercise a high degree of caution in Indonesia as recent indications suggest that Islamic militants may be in an advanced stage of preparing violent attacks in Indonesia. Australia warns about possible terrorist attacks throughout Indonesia (including Bali and Jakarta) and it specifically discourages journeys to Central Sulawesi, Papua and West Papua. On Thursday 14 January 2016 Islamic militants engaged in attacks in Central Jakarta, resulting in eight casualties (including the four terrorists).

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Tourism in Indonesia has posted impressive growth rates in recent years. This development is due to the fact that Indonesia has plenty of beautiful sites and cultural traditions to offer to foreign (and domestic) tourists, improved airline accessibility to Indonesia, and enhanced focus on promotional campaigns in foreign countries. Lastly, and not unimportantly, there have been no violent terrorist attacks in recent years. In the 2000s, a vicious terrorist attack always resulted in a temporary drop in foreign tourist arrivals.

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Last Thursday night, a Nigerian drug dealer, imprisoned since 2004, was executed by firing squad near Kepulauan Seribu to the north of Jakarta's coast. This execution is the first since the execution of three Islamic radicals (who were involved in the 2002 Bali bombings) in 2008. Meanwhile, on Friday morning, counter-terrorism squad Densus 88 killed three suspected Muslim militants that robbed a jewelry store in Tambora, West Jakarta.

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