Lloyd’s Analyzes Southeast Asia Terrorism Threat

Lloyd’s has warned that businesses operating in Southeast Asia “need to better understand that the Asian terrorism threat is unique, complex and specific to the region.”

Lloyd’s and the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) released the report – Terrorism in Asia: What does it mean for business, – at Lloyd’s 360 Risk Debate in Singapore. It warns that traditional forms of terrorism in Asia “are being superseded by area specific threats, such as criminal gangs with political agendas, and businesses need to respond to these.”

The report, available on the Lloyd’s web site at: www.lloyds.com, outlines five practical actions that businesses can take to minimize the threat from a terrorist attack:
— Gather high-quality information from the right source – using the expertise of government and academic bodies – to guide strategy and operations;
— choose locations wisely – across the world the possibility of a direct attack is low but businesses need to consider the risk of indirect damage;
— adopt security as good practice, not a burden;
— protect supply chains; and
— engage with local communities and understand local customs and traditions.

Lloyd’s Chief Executive Richard Ward, speaking at the 360 Risk debate in Singapore, explained: “There is no such thing as a uniform global threat, and in South East Asia, businesses face some complex and specific regional issues. While there are fewer occurrences of Islamist terrorism in the area, criminal gangs with agendas are on the rise, with kidnappings and other forms of violent crime increasingly prevalent in some parts of the region.

“Businesses need to be better at information gathering from the right source in order to focus on what they are actually threatened with, not reading the media headlines that usually focus on radicalism, and making decisions based on that.”

Among other conclusions the report cited “proximity to Western targets, such as embassies, high commissions, hotels; kidnapping of employees; and threats to transport routes and supply chains,” as the main threat to businesses operating in Southeast Asia.

“If a company’s supply chain is attacked or shut down, it simply cannot survive. While many businesses are aware of possible attacks on their premises and take precautions to avoid this, too few take into account their operating systems and transport routes,” Ward added.

Source: Lloyd’s