U.S.-Singapore-Malaysia-Indonesia Multilateral Dialogue on Biosecurity: Year 2

Abstract

This follow-on project will comprise two biosecurity dialogues among the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia to address regional risks related to deliberate or accidental misuse of biological materials, biosecurity and biosafety vulnerabilities at high-containment laboratories, security issues posed by dual-use science, and infectious disease outbreaks that might pose security threats. Countries in Southeast Asia are particularly vulnerable to biosecurity threats due to the region’s dense population, high volume of cross-border traffic, and frequent, closequarter co-location of humans and animals. For these reasons, Southeast Asia is susceptible to emerging and re-emerging diseases (e.g., SARS, H5N1, Nipah virus). Bioscience labs are also becoming more common in the region, and “viral sovereignty” continues to be an issue. Moreover, there are known terrorist networks active in the area.