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Chapter 6
Southeast Asia
Chapter Overview
Southeast Asia is a contemporary convergence of environments and peoples, the influence of
empire and economic globalization, and the delicate balance of competition and cooperation.
Proximity to water and coastal access dominate the region’s physical situation. The cultural
diversity of Southeast Asia includes ancient Hindu and Buddhist peoples and the world’s most
populous Islamic country. Countries and cities in the region compete intensely for market growth
and contemporary global connections. At the same time efforts exist to strengthen
intergovernmental economic and political relationships among the region’s diverse cultural
traditions and political ideologies. The region is one of contrasts: some countries are among the
world’s wealthiest while others are among the world’s poorest. There are many indigenous
groups practicing traditional and tribal lifestyles but the region is playing an increasingly larger
role in global affairs and economics. Until recently, this region was characterized by geographic
isolation and a history of domination by external powers. Europeans, Chinese, and South Asian
influences have played a significant role in defining the cultural, political and economic
character of the region.
The region’s climates are largely tropical and heavily influence by oceanic influences.
Southeast Asia contains many large, sediment-laden rivers. This region is home to a wide variety
of animal and vegetation types. Numerous mountain ranges and volcanoes are found in the
region, the result of movement of three major and one minor tectonic plates. Earthquakes are
common in the region and a massive earthquake off the Indonesian island of Sumatra triggered
the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. Human activity compounds the impacts of natural
hazards. Deforestation, soil degradation and mining damage are among the key human-induced
environmental problems faced by Southeast Asia.
Although Southeast Asia has had global connections since the early seventeenth century, it
was not until the late twentieth century that the region saw widespread integration into
globalizing economies. Most countries in the region had rapid population growth during the last
half of the twentieth century, with the overall population doubling between 1965 and 2004. Rate
of natural increase have dropped substantially in recent decades but all of the countries in the
region have been experiencing increased urbanization.
Southeast Asia includes part of the Asian continent as well as numerous islands between the
continent and Australia. The subregion has many cultural fault lines along which frictions exist.
Of the mainland countries, only Thailand avoided rule by military and Communist governments.
Prior to the 1997 economic crash Thailand had emerged as one of the economic leaders of
Southeast Asia. The island countries are noted for their fragmentation (>17,000 islands) and
ethnolinguistic diversity (>300 ethnolinguistic groups). Singapore and Brunei have the region’s
highest GNI PPP. The islands are home to a large Muslim population and Jemaah Islamiah, a
militant Islamic separatist movement, is attempting to establish an Islamic Republic that would
include parts of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Regional economic growth in the latter
decades of the twentieth century slowed dramatically following the economic crisis of 1997.
Recovery has been slow, but ASEAN and APEC both continue to work towards strengthening
Southeast Asia’s economy relative to other world regions.
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Chapter Outline
Geography at Work: The Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004
Point–Counterpoint: Singapore
Personal View: Malaysia
I.
A World of Influences
A. Crossroads in the Sea
II. Natural Environments
A. Equatorial, Arid, and Oceanic Climates
1. Equatorial Southeast Asia
B. Continents and Islands
1. Plate Movements, Mountain Ranges, and Volcanic Activity
2. Major Rivers
C. Distinctive Ecosystems
D. Natural Resources
1. Southeast Asia
E. Environmental Problems
1. Natural Hazards
2. Tsunami
3. Pollution, Erosion, and Mining Excavations
F. Cultural History and Colonialism
1. Khmer, Burmese, Thai, and Vietnamese Empires
2. Cultural Intersection
III.
G. The Colonists and Independence
1. Philippines
2. Indonesia
3. Malaysia and Singapore
4. Myanmar (Burma)
5. Indochina
6. Thailand (Siam)
Globalization and Local Change
A. Population Dynamics: Movement, Settlement, and Growth
1. Natural Increase
2. Migration and Resettlement in Indonesia
3. The Impact of AIDS
4. Traffic in People
5. Effects of Rapid Urbanization
6. Urbanization under Communism
B. Geographic Identity
1. Ethnic Variety
2. Human Rights
IV. Subregions
V. Mainland Southeast Asia
A. Countries
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I.
B. Economies and People
1. Economic Crisis: Late 1990s
2. Thailand after the Crisis
3. Farming Changes in Southeast Asia
4. Communist Indochina
5. The Political Economy of Myanmar
Insular Southeast Asia
A. Island Countries
B. ASEAN and APEC: The Southeast Mainland, Islands, and Beyond
C. Agriculture and Forestry
D. Mining in Southeast Asia
E. Market-Led Industrialization
F. Expanding Tourism in Southeast Asia
Themes/Perspectives for General Discussion
1. What is ASEAN? What are the organization’s goals?
2. What role did colonialism play in defining the modern characteristics of the region?
3. To what landform features and natural hazards in the region are the result tectonic
activity?
4. What is the Wallace Line? Describe how ecosystems vary on either side of the line.
5. What are primate cities? What cities in the region are primate cities?
6. What is APEC and why was it formed? Who are the current members?
7. How did the Green Revolution affect Southeast Asia?
8. What advantage did the transmigration program bring to Indonesia? What disadvantages
did it bring?
9. Why is Catholicism the dominant religion in the Philippines?
10. Explain the difference between “ersatz capitalism” and “crony capitalism?”
Key Terms and Concepts
alluvial layers
Angkor Wat
archipelago
Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC)
Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN)
Burmese
containment
convective rain showers
convergent plate boundary
crony capitalism
cultural fault lines
deurbanization
domino theory
Dutch East India Company
ecotourism
ersatz capitalism
Green Revolution
Karen
Khmer
Khmer Rouge
land breeze
Lao
megathrust earthquakes
Mon
new rice technology
Pacific Rim
padi
plantation
primate city
sea breeze
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Shan
subduction
Thai
transform plate margin
transmigration
tsunami
typhoon
Vietnamese
Wallace Line
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Check the News – Current events that you might want to explore for your lecture, or have
students explore on their own, from paper or on-line news services.
1. And the status of Indonesia? Can you find news stories about the devolution of
this state?
2. Are there currently clashes involving insurgent groups in the region? Where have
these clashes occurred? Why have they occurred?
3. What is the status of U.S.-Vietnamese relations? Is the country still communist
politically? How about economically?
Suggestions for Further Reading
Aung San Suu Kyi. Letters from Burma. New York: Penguin, 1998.
Evans, Grant. A Short History of Laos: The Land in Between. Melbourne: Allen &
Unwin, 2003.
Lee, Kuan Yew. From Third World to First: The Singapore Story: 1965-2000. New
York: HarperCollins, 2000.
Leinbach, T. R., R. Ulack, eds. Southeast Asia: diversity and development. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000.
Maguire, Peter. Facing Death in Cambodia. New York: Columbia University Press,
2005.
McCloud, D.G. Southeast Asia: tradition and modernity in the contemporary world.
Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1995.
Rigg, J. Southeast Asia: the human landscape of modernization and development.
New York: Routledge, 1997.
Saunders, Graham. History of Brunei. London: Routledge/Curzon, 2002.
Stiglitz, J.E., S. Yusuf, eds. Rethinking the East Asia Miracle. New York: Oxford
University Press and World Bank, 2001.
Taylor, Jean Gelman. Indonesia: Peoples and Histories. New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2003.
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