March 2024 – Dr. Lumpy Lumbaca provides an insightful review of “Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday Massacre: Lessons for the International Community” by counterterrorism expert Dr. Rohan Gunaratna. The book, published by Penguin Books, delves into the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, analyzing the radicalization process and the resilience of the Sri Lankan people. Lumbaca, a retired US Army Green Beret professor at the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, commends Gunaratna’s in-depth research and personalized narrative approach. The review highlights the book’s exploration of the Salafi-Wahhabism ideology, the attackers’ motivations, and the unity and courage shown [...]

Hoang Do, Research Official at the East Sea Institute, Vietnam, and CSC 22-1 DKI APCSS alumnus, has released a Security Nexus perspective paper titled "Popular MDA Initiatives and Implications for ASEAN." This paper examines the impact of increasing Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) programs on ASEAN countries. The paper highlights the dual nature of MDA initiatives: while offering ASEAN an enhanced ability to combat maritime crimes and address "gray zone" challenges, they also raise concerns regarding national security, sovereignty, and technical compatibility. Hoang Do suggests a need for a strategic MDA approach within ASEAN, focusing on transparency, inclusivity, and long-term data-analysis [...]