Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia Insular Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Mainland Southeast Asia Insular Southeast Asia Burma Laos Thailand Vietnam Cambodia Brunei Philippine Malaysia I n Singapore d o n e s East Timor i a

Introduction u Heavily influenced by external forces cultural diversity • Buddhism, Chinese immigrants, Islam • European colonialism u Battleground for global ideologies after WWII • Vietnam war u Strongly felt globalization • Promises: economic growth in the 1980 s • Perils: financial crisis in the late 1990 s

Environmental Geography A Once-Forested Region

Mainland: delta landscape large river systems Insular: volcanic eruption located in 4 plate boundaries

Mainland Southeast Asia u Rugged uplands interspersed with river Irrawaddy R. lowlands (delta) Red R. Chayo Phraya Mekong R.

Insular Southeast Asia u Mountain spine created by a tectonic force u Large expanse of shallow ocean Borneo Sumatra Sunda Shelf Java New Guinea Celebes (Sulawesi)

u u u Mainland monsoon Insular monsoon, typhoon, equatorial effect Monsoon: distinct dry and rainy season changing wind direction Typhoon: heavy rainfall to the northeastern reaches of Insular Asia Equatorial effect: little seasonality, year-round precipitation

Wallace’s Line u Difference in animal and plant life between western and eastern islands • Western Asian origin • Eastern Australian origin u 12, 000 years ago, the sea level was lower (last global ice age)

Deforestation of Southeast Asia u Pre-colonial period • Agricultural settlement u Colonial period • Plantation, shipbuilding u Post-colonial period • Commercial logging by international firms u 1990 s • Logging ban

Population and Settlement Subsistence, Migrations, Cities

Settlement patterns Unlike East Asia and South Asia, Southeast Asia has historically supported low population density u Why? u (1) Infertile soil u (2) Rugged mountains u u Population is concentrated in deltas or volcanic islands due to its fertile soil

Mainland: heavily settled deltas Insular: heavily settled volcanic landscape

Farming patterns (1): Upland swidden system u Shifting cultivation (“slash-and-burn”) u Threatened by growing population and commercial logging u Switched Burma) to a cash crop like opium (eg.

Farming patterns (2): Plantation agriculture u Specialty crops for exports during European colonization u Usually practiced in the coastal lowlands for shipping u Still widespread, but lesser dependence on plantation has been attempted

Farming patterns (3): Lowland rice cultivation u Lowland basins of mainland u Focused on three delta areas • Irrawaddy (Burma) • Chao Praya (Thailand) • Mekong (Vietnam, Cambodia)

u High birthrate: Laos, Cambodia low level of economic development u Low birthrate: Singapore, Thailand high level of economic development, family planning u Still relatively rural despite recent industrialization

Population policy: Indonesian transmigration Relocating its population from densely populated area (Java) to outer islands u Pros: balanced population distribution pattern u Cons: environmental degradation, ethnic conflicts u

Urban settlement Overurbanization? • Yes • No Manila Bankok Kuala Lumpur Singapore

Cultural Coherence and Diversity A Meeting Ground of World Cultures

u Meeting • • ground for cultural diffusion from South Asia – Hinduism, Buddhism, writing system China – Immigration of southern Chinese Middle East – Islam, writing system Europe – Christianity

External cultural influences 0 A. D. Hinduism 12 c 13 c 19 c 20 c Islam Theravada Buddhism Chinese immigration Christianity Bali Indonesia Mainland Malaysia Chinese Philippines communities Tribal areas

Religion in Southeast Asia Buddhism mainland Catholic Philippines Animism & Christianity in the uplands Islam insular Hindu Bali

Chinese in Southeast Asia Chinese communities all over Southeast Asia u Disproportionate prosperity of the local Chinese community u

Language in Southeast Asia Burman Tai Mon-Khmer Austronesian Papuan

National language in Southeast Asia Burmese Lao Thai Vietnamese Khmer Filipino English Malay Indonesian National language is limited to the core area of densely populated lowlands in mainland (Burma, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia)

Use of English in Southeast Asia u Widely spoken in the former British or U. S. colonies • Philippine, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma u Ambivalent English attitude towards the use of • Encouraged by pro-globalizers • Discouraged by nationalists • Emergence of hybrid tongue

Geopolitical Framework War, Ethnic Strife, and Regional Cooperation

u Pre-colonial era • Mainland: form political states • Insular: lack political states u Colonial era • Insular (16 c~): Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch • Mainland (19 c~): British, French u After independence • The former French Indochina became battleground for ideological rivalries

Colonial Southeast Asia British French Spanish U. S. Dutch Portuguese Insular Southeast Asia inherited territory from former colonial powers

Ideological rivalries in the former French Indochina u Battle against the French (1945 ~ 1954) • Backed by pro-communist group u Vietnam War (1954 ~ 1975) • Military conflict between communist forces of North Vietnam and non-communist forces of South Vietnam u Communist regimes (1975 ~) • Installed in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos • Persistent political instability

Geopolitical tensions (1): Conflicts in Indonesia Irian Jaya E. Timor Became the 11 th sovereign states in Southeast Asia u Transmigration triggers ethnic conflicts • Javanese (Islam) immigrants indigenous people u Ethnically/culturally distinct regions have called for autonomy or independence

Geopolitical tensions (2): Regional tensions in the Philippines Muslim separatists in the southwest u Communist-oriented nationwide rebellion u Rebellion of tribal groups in northern Luzon u

Geopolitical tensions (3): Ethnic conflict in Burma u u Ethnic minorities Military regime dominated by the Burmans Insurgencies are often financed by drug trade (“Golden Triangle”)

Geopolitical tensions (4): Dispute over the Spratly Islands China Taiwan Vietnam Philippines Spratly islands Malaysia

Regional cooperation: ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) u Originally intended as a bulwark against the spread of Communism u With the end of Cold War, communist states are admitted u Political cooperation • Prevent external influences in the region • Promote regional stability u Economic cooperation

Economic and Social Development The Roller-Coaster Ride of Tiger Economies

u Recent economic development • Leaders: Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia • Laggards: Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia u Economic crisis in the late 1990 s • Hit most of Southeast Asian countries • Marked dependence on foreign investment

u u Singapore: Regional hub Brunei: oil reserves Malaysia, Thailand: globalized economic development Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma: civil war

The Philippine Decline u Pronounced decline in living standards over the last several decades u Causes • Crony capitalism • Kleptocracy u Consequences • Exodus of labor • Uneven distribution of wealth

The Regional Hub: Singapore u The region’s greatest development success u Transformed from entropôt port city to high-tech industrial city u Communications and financial hub of Southeast Asia u Authoritarian capitalism • Brought fast growth, but • Limited civil liberties

The Malaysian Boom u The region’s second greatest development success u Development was initially concentrated in natural resource extraction, but recent growth is powered by high-tech sectors u Disparities of wealth • Geographical: west > east • Ethnic: Chinese > non-Chinese

Thailand: An Emerging Tiger? u Japanese companies was leading players in the earlier Thai boom • Attracted by its low-waged, and well-educated population under political stability u Rapid growth under democratic government u Relatively receptive to globalization • Sex industry

Persistent Poverty in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia u Attributed • • to Continual warfare or fightings (1941~1990 s) Socialist economic system (1975 ~ 1990 s) The fall of the Soviet Union (1991) Embargo imposed by U. S. (1975 ~ 1994) u Recent economic reforms in Vietnam • Embrace market while retaining the political forms of a communist state

Southeast Asia’s global linkages

u With the exception of Laos, Cambodia, and Burma, Southeast Asia has achieved relatively high level of social welfare