With much of the United States’ national security focus centered on the Middle East, one senator is speaking out about the rise of Islamic State group sympathizers in Southeast Asia and the long-term problems that could cause if left unchecked. 

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Rachel Stohl, a senior associate at the Stimson Center, said the United States has sent more than $570 million in security assistance and more than $2 billion in arms sales to the Philippines in the last 15 years, even as outside concerns have mounted over human rights abuses connected to Duterte’s crackdown on the drug trade.   

Stohl said those financial ties need to be re-evaluated. “The United States should not let counterterrorism priorities override the potential risk of human rights violations.”

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