"Southeast Asia": What does it mean?

Southeast Asia is not an objectively delimited geographical region, but a metageographical area. Martin W. Lewis and Kären E. Wigen (1997) refer to metageography as "the set of spatial structures through which people order their knowledge of the world: the often unconscious frameworks that organize studies of history, sociology, anthropology, economics, political science, or even natural history" (p.ix). Namely, "Southeast Asia" is a shared mental construct. And, even though it is an area by no means uniform regarding almost any aspect, the use of the term does not carry much controversy. For most scholars, the regions is formed by the following states:

• Burma (Myanmar). Capital: Naypyidaw
• Thailand.                 Capital: Bangkok
• Cambodia.               Capital: Phnom Penh
• Laos                         Capital: Vientiane
• Vietnam                   Capital: Hanoi
• Malaysia                  Capital: Kuala Lumpur
• Singapore                 Capital: Singapore
• Indonesia                  Capital: Jakarta
• Philippines               Capital: Manila
• Brunei                      Capital: Bandar Seru Begawan
• Timor-Leste*           Capital: Dili

*Part of the literature on Southeast Asia does not include Timor-Leste, as it is a newly independent state (it was considered a province of Indonesia until 2002).

Source: United Nations

According to Emmerson (1984), the term describes something that's between an invention and a reality, but in any case a reality per se. He argues that using this name without knowing its implications is "projecting homogeneity, unity and boundedness onto a part of the world that is in fact heterogeneous, disunited, and hard to delimit" (p.1).

In fact, it is interesting that the name by which this metageographical area is known actually refers to its periphery: its references its location to the South of China and to the East of India, which were more recognizable landmarks for Westerners.

Before being known as "Southeast Asia", the region -or certain parts of it- was referred to in various different ways:

• In the 19th century, the term "Indo-China" was used ambiguously by the British to name the Asia beyond India
• The British also used "Further India", the Germans "Hinterindien", the French "l'Inde ultragangetique," the Indians "Suvarnabhumi", the Arabs "Zabag", the Japanese "Nanyo" and the Australians "Terra Septentrionalis". Each of these names "carries with it the unique perspective of an outside party. By implication, to prefer one name is to lend credence to that namer's claims to a proprietary relationship with the region." (Emmerson, p.4)

Geographic characteristics

Southeast Asia is a geographical area that can be defined in several ways:

1) As the are comprising between Australia, India, China and the Pacific Ocean
2) The division of Mainland and Island countries between India and China
3) The old Indochina (mainland South East Asia) and Maritime South East Asia or the East Indies

In all the different ways it is described, the following countries are included: Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand as mainland and East Timor, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia as Maritime Nations.

Southeast Asia covers an area of 4,493,944 square kilometres and has a population of 450 million, becoming the 3rd most populated region in the world.

And what is clear is that the distinction between Mainland and Maritime Nations plays a crucial role in the geographical definition of South East Asia.


Why is the distinction so important? 

A side from the cultural diversity that exists between the nations surrounded by sea and those that are not, geographically we can distinguish many differences between mainland and island South East Asia.

Mainland geography:
The separation from China and India is defines by rivers run-in in the highlands. Countries like Vietnam or Thailand are great producers of crops such as rice due to the expense plains set in between forests and mountains. But also mainland South East Asia enjoys a huge coastline that allows these countries to also have maritime trade.

 This diversity of land also led to the creation of many tribes and ethnic groups inside the same nation but with very distinctive features, clothing, jewellery, language, religion etc.

Island geography: 
Southeast Asia maritime area is composed by almost 20.000 different Islands located in the Indian and the Pacific Ocean , most of them inside the South China Sea. The main Islands are Sumatra, java, Luzon and Borneo.

Borneo for example comprises the countries of Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Due to the geographical feature s of this Islands (tropical forests, highlands etc.) the inhabitants had to travel by boat in order to communicate and trade, this allowing the creation of many "hotspots" in the coasts with similar features and slowly an integration of culture and customs. Therefore in areas such as Indonesia and Malaysia culture is not a strong distinction.

Islands had and have an essential role in history, thanks to the trade possibilities the coasts offer, specially their function as points of communication between China and the rest of the World.

Climate features: 

Environmental chracteritics are defined by subtropical and tropical climate zones, due to its proximity to the equator and it is affected by the South West Monsoon climate system. South East Asia goes though period of drought to periods of heavy precipitation (rain forest) usually brought by a shift in the wind direction which is called Monsoon.

People have slowly adapted to the highly diverse geographical features that can be found in south east Asia. Dense forests, extremely dry areas, coasts and highlands. This adaptation has also led to the creation of many ethnic groups.



Geographical highlights: 

1. Indonesia: largest country in South East Asia
2. Strait of Malacca: breach in between the Islands of Sumatra and Malaysia that allows the South China Sea to connect to the Indian Ocean. It is the shortest sea route that unites china and India and therefore of crucial importance in maritime trade. Oil transportation is one of the reasons why this geographical feature plays a key role in world economy. 
3. The Ring of Fire: string or arc of active volcanoes and seismically active areas in the surroundings of the Pacific Ocean and which includes many of the nations that comprise Southeast Asia. 
4. Colonisation: The only region belonging to South East Asia that was not colonised by an European Country is the Kingdom os Siam (Current Thailand) 
5. 
   
   
   The Monsoon Weather. (Black arrow is summer Monsoon, Grey arrow is Winter Monsoon)
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Topography of Southeast Asia

Religious and cultural diversity

As in the geographic division, the religious diversity of Southeast Asia follows the same limitation.


The mainland countries are defined by the presence of majority of Buddhists.
Trade is a key characteristic that defines Southeast Asia as the reason why during the 13th Centuries,  Muslim merchants coming from Yemen and the African Coast had to cross the Bay of Bengal and the Malabar Coast in order to reach India and China for the exchange.
 This flow of people among the Islands and Coasts that now form Southeast Asia are the reason why we find now the high percentage of Muslim population in the Island Nations, since traders have settled there for centuries and their religion was slowly adopted and localised into the different cultures of the region.

Christianity is as well present in all the region due to the colonisation era by Western Empires that started in the  16th Century thanks to the European Voyages and exploration. Specially in the Philippines thanks to the actions of Luis de Velasco, the Viceroy of New Spain and Miguel Lopez de Legazpi a Spanish Explored who conquered several kindoms of what now constitute the Philippines transforming the culture beliefs from Islam to  Christianity

Curious fact: In Indonesia 234 million people are Muslim, constituting it the largest Muslim populated country in the world, BUT slam is NOT the official religion. 

This is the religious division of the different members of the Southeast Asian region

MAINLAND

Burma (Myanmar): Population: 53, 582, 855 (2017)

 4% Islam
 80% Buddhism
 8% Christianity

Cambodia: Population: 15, 762, 370 (2016)
 4% Islam
 80 % Buddhism
 0,40% Christianity

Laos: Population: 6,758,353 (2016)
 0% Islam
 65% Buddhism
 1% Christianity
Another major religion if Laotian follows religion which is a 31% of its population

Thailand: Population: 68, 863, 514 (2016)
 5% Islam
93 & Buddhism
 1% Christianity

Vietnam: Population: 94, 569, 072 (2016)
 0.20% Islam
 16% Buddhism
 8% Christianity
70% of Its population are linked to a folk religion or directly non-religious.

MARITIME 

Brunei: Population: 417, 200 (2015)
75% Islam
8% Buddhism
10% Christianity

Indonesia: Population: 261, 115, 456 (2016)
87% Islam
1% Buddhism
10% Christianity

Malaysia: Population: 31, 937, 000 (2018)
63% Islam
18% Buddhism
10% Christianity

Philippines: Population: 100, 981, 437 (2015)
5% Islam
0% Buddhism
93/ Christianity

Singapore: Population: 5, 612, 300 (2017)
14% Islam
33% Buddhism
18% Christianity
18% No religion

East Timor: Population: 1, 167, 242 (2015)
97% Christianity


Main current Religious conflict: 
- The Rohingya crisis in Myanmar: Rohingya muslims are a minority population of Myanmar or Burma (1 million), due to the Buddhist beliefs of the government of this country the ethnic group is being persecuted, creating one of the biggest refugee crisis in world history.

Political characteristics of the region

The end of the colonial era in Southeast Asia marked the beginning of modern forms of statehood that had some similarities with the previous colonial rulers. In the case of Thailand, its monarchy also received a lot of pressure to democratize. Cambodia, Indonesia or Malaysia also encountered complex situations within the dichotomy of monarchy and democratization. This institution continues to have a sybolism that allows it to have more influence than stated in each country's Constitution. Nevertheless, monarchies still having more power than they should are not the only complicated issue in Southeast Asian politics:

Brief overview of Southeast Asian countries' political systems

Malaysia is a federal, elective constitutional monarchy, with the head of government being the Prime minister. It was subject to the British from the 18th century until 1957.

Thailand has been a constitutional monarchy since 1932 and had parliamentary democracy until the recent coup d'état by the Royal Thai Armed Forces in 2014. It has been a de facto military dictatorship ever since, reaching a historic number of lèse-majesté prisoners -sentences for critics to the monarchy- in the last years

Singapore is a unitary multiparty parliamentary republic, although it has been labeled as a "flawed democracy": the same party -the People's Action Party or PAP- has won every election since 1959, it has a low level of press freedom and not a very high degree of civil liberties and political rights (according to Freedom House NGO).

Indonesia is a unitary, presidential republic. It has a multi-party system, and all governments are formed by coalitions.

Cambodia is an elective constitutional monarchy whose head of government is the Prime minister. Its political situation is similar to that of Singapore in the sense that, although it is officially a multiparty democracy, it remains dominated by one party -Cambodian People's Party.

Brunei has a parliament, but the last elections in the country were held in 1962. After the Brunei Revolt occurred that year, the country has been under martial law. The Royal family has no power but maintains a venerated status.

Vietnam was the protagonist of the most mediatic conflict of the 60's. The Vietnam War had a big and polemic involvement of the US, whose government supported South Vietnam, which finally lost the war. Since then, the country is under the rule of the Communist Party.

The Philippines was recognized as an independent state in 1948 and has nowadays a democratic government in the form of a constitutional republic with a presidential system.The Philippines was a Spanish colony until 1989. 

East Timor was part of by Portugal until 1975, and then invaded by Indonesia and annexed as one of its provinces. This caused a decades-long conflict between the Indonesian military and Timorese separatist groups, but East Timor finally became independent in 2002, being the first new sovereign state of the 21st century. As of now, the country is a parliamentary republic.

Laos became independent in 1953 as a constitutional monarchy, but shortly after, the outbreak of the Laotian Civil War ended the monarchy and established a one-party socialist republic. The Lao People's Revolutionary Party, which emerged from the Communist Party of Vietnam, has been in control since 1975.

Burma (Myanmar) is undergoing a really complex situation regarding its domestic politics. Despite the efforts for the country to become a full democracy, the military still has too much influence -the current constitution was drafted by the military, and they obligatorily hold 25% of seats in the parliament. Burma got independence from the British in 1948, but following the coup d'état in 1962, a military dictatorship was imposed, which led to years and years of civil war. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was the leader and visible figure of civilians demanding democracy during this period and elected for president after the 2010 general election. However, because of the power that the military still have, she cannot hold office, and holds the charge of "state counselor" instead.

Economic characteristics of the region

Economic history:

The economic importance of Southeast Asian nations dates way back in history. There is no specific date, but there are records that sure that trade between Asia and Europe started during in the Greek era 4th century BC, though the exchange of of spices, metals, silk, cloths, precious stones...The ocean comprising Southeast Asia was the key transportation route  in order to reach China and many ports and trading spots were settled all over these nation's coasts.

15th Century was the great era for navigation fosters by the Spanish and Portuguese colonisers and later by the Dutch and English East Indian companies, which tried to settle monopolies on spice and later opium in the region.

This dominion of the Western empires over the Southeastern nations went on until the 20th Century, as a consequence of World War II many of these colonisers left the area and many countries proclaimed their independence from the French, Dutch and British such as Burma in 1948, Malaysia in 1957 or Singapore in 1965.

This independent gave the opportunity to the new forming Asian nations to develop an economy of their own exploiting for example rice plantations, since Southeast Asia is the biggest exporter of this commodity. Historical trade partners of the colonies have been mantained which have allowed countries such as Thailand, Indonesia or Vietnam to keep exchanging goods between the former partners, Russia, United States etc.

Geographically and historically Southeast Asia as mentioned before is a hot spot for ship merchandising and transportation of commodities, a connection between Europe and the Middle East with China, specially using the Strait of Malacca as a way of entry.

Contemporary Economy

Since the declaration of independence of the Southeastern Regions during the 20th century their economic prosperity has been reinforced through international treaties and integration in different world economic associations such as the International Sugar Agreement, Organisation of petroleum, exporting countries, ASEAN or the ASIA- Pacific economic cooperation council.

Nowadays World Economy is driven by oil and natural gas /as we will see down below) , the exporting countries, the demanding countries but most importantly those through where the commodity has to go through. Nearly 100. 000 ships cross every year the Start of Malacca moving goods, specially oil and gas, from one side of the world to the other. This little and narrow breach dividing Malaysia and Sumatra could be able to stop China's petroleum sources. And block many other routes that would affect world economy in great scale. We can say that Southeast Asia isexport-reliant. 

Southeast Asia is slowly emerging as a Global Growth Leader, but its growth is slow due to the political differences exiting in the same region and therefore causing integration and cooperation problems. Economic growth in the Economic association ASEAN is predicted to be of 4,9% next year according to the World Economic Bank. It is emerging as an alternative to Chinese industries, specially on manufacturing and exportation. Consequently  foreign countries are basing their industries on the different nations forming Southeast Asia.

Landlocked states such as Laos and Burma show the slowest growth due to their geographical position.

The countries leading this economic prosperity are Vietnam And the Philippines which in 2017 have grown almost a 7%.


Economic importance of each Southeast Asian country in GDP  per capita (USD)

1- Singapore: 52, 049. 00 USD.     Main sector: petroleum, computers and integrated circuits
2- Brunei: 37, 759. 00 USD.          Main sector: natural gas and petroleum
3-. Malaysia: 13, 123. 00 USD.     Main sector: industry
4- Thailand: 5, 697.00 USD.          Main sector: manufacture and tourism
5- Philippines: 3, 568. 00 USD.     MAin sector: manufacture
6- Indonesia: 3, 511. 00 USD.        Main sector: natural resources and tourism
7- East Timor: 3,239.00 USD.        Main sector : printing and manufacturing
8- Vietnam: 2, 370. 00USD            Main sector: manufacture, industry, textile
9- Laos: 1, 709. 00 USD                 Main sector; mining, agriculture
10. Myanmar: 1, 419. 00 USD.       Main sector: agriculture
11- Cambodia: 1,111. 00 USD.       Main sector: construction

Dutch and East India Companies / 17th Century

Southeast Asia and ASEAN

The Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) is an organization of political and economic character founded in 1967 by the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia, Phillippines, Singapore and Thailand. Nowadays, its members are:

• The five founding countries
• Brunei
• Vietnam
• Laos
• Burma (Myanmar)
• Cambodia

Therefore, ASEAN is integrated by all the countries in the region defined by the UN as Southeast Asia -with the exception of East Timor, whose admission has been delayed various times. A feasibility study has been taking place for 7 years now; previously to that, its inclusion into the organization had been denied arguing political instability, weak economic infrastructure and insufficient human resources.

ASEAN flag. Source: geopolitica.ru

What is curious about ASEAN is that it represents a somewhat "artificial" region: as mentioned in previous posts, the countries that form it are quite plural in its cultural, religious, or political nature. The existence of ASEAN, consequently, is more probably rooted in a strategy to increase its members' visibility in the globe and in an acknowledgement that joining forces is what works best in the international system. Chou and Houben (2006) have argued that, in a world where engaging efforts seems to be the growing approach to gaining strength and world presence, "a Southeast Asian regional identity through the ASEAN in particular is becoming more and more self-evident" (p.11).

Individual essays

The strait of Malacca

By Laura Torres

The Islands of Sumatra and Malaysia are vaguely separated by a breach of 890 km that allows the Indian Ocean

(Andaman sea)  to connect with the South China Sea and surrounded by Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. 

In other words, it is a checkpoint that connect some of the most powerful and growing economies in the world China,

India, Japan, the Middle East… 

The ports of Malacca (Port Klang) in Malaysia and Singapore are the two “star” economic centres that surround the Strait,

moreover, the World Economic Forum defines this strait as the most important trade route in the world.

Historically South East Asia has been and currently is a hot spot for international trade and transportation, consequently

many ports and settlements have been created in the areas surrounding this corridor. And has allowed the formation of

populations with high diversity thanks to the merchants coming from all around the world, becoming a massive cultural

rich region. 

Its importance dates back to the Roman and Greek empires when Asian populations traded with spices and cloths, until

nowadays petroleum and natural gas global exchange. Sadly, the now world trade is heavily driven by fuel or oil trade.

The strait of Malacca is responsible for the transportation of one fourth of the total oil exported in the whole world,

moving this commodity from The Persian Gulf to China, Japan, Korea… It can be secure to say that the ports

surrounding this natural hazard have an elementary role in the International economy, and is in the

interest of every single state in the world to protect their rights and the safeness of this passage. 

Maritime passages are subject to many dangers because of the high potential they offer for political conflicts as well as

piracy acts. 

One of the main problems facing the region may be one of capacity. 100.000 ships - approximately - have to cross the narrow strait (1.5 nautical miles) every year, making it the second busiest traffic routine the world after the Strait of Dover that divides France and England. 

Of course, massive traffic leads to increased risk. And it is a feature that pirates in the area have used to their advantage over centuries. Geographically the area is suitable for piracy acts to take place, thanks to the abundance of small and unnoticeable islands as key points for these actions to take place. More over, the lack of cooperation between the nations of South East Asia, which are united politically in ASEAN is a major reason why piracy is increasing. 

The World Maritime office has pointed out that in 2015, had of the piracy attacks in the world took place in South East Asia. 

This previous Economic perspective is basically the only one that has been given to the Strait of Malacca, we have forgotten the importance it has had and has in the creation of cultural diversity as mentioned in the beginning of the essay. We are not blinded by the petroleum world and the conflicts its bringing around the world, and forgetting the true and beneficial consequences or origin that this natural land and water formation has offered. The Strait of Malacca is a concourse of cultures and ideologies. 

Of course, this migration flows were driven by the economic attraction this region offered, the Romans for example were amazed by the cloths and spices found in South East Asia. And therefore began sending merchants that finally settled in the coastlines,. This settlers would eventually emerge into the native cultures but also bringing their own, creating a whole new ethnicity. This same process was repeated throughout history combining many features, from Europeans to even the populations of the nearest Islands the strait. We can call this process cultural hybridity

For example a Chinese society was settled in the north east part of Melaka, the European characteristics that emerged with the Hindu features of the Indian Baba or Melaka Chitty populations. 

It is crucial to understand that this strait has the power to stop the world’s supply of oil and the trade between China and the rest of the world. Whoever is able to control the Start of Malacca has the whole world on its hands. Collaboration and cooperation between the South East Asian countries will be essential to protect the strait of Malacca and ensure the economic prosperity of the surrounding nations as well as to protect it from piracy attacks. 

The fact that sea is something we all have in common is perfectly reflected in the cultural diversity that human migrations and flows that have created in Southeast Asia. 

 The strait of Malacca therefore constitutes the most meaningful water frontier for trade and societies in Southeast Asia. 

Strait of Malacca

Crude Oil and trade flow of the Strait of Malacca

Use your liberty to promote ours: the story of Aung San Suu Kyi and the Rohingya

By Alicia Rubio

The nation of Myanmar has gone through one of the toughest conflicts in recent history. Although it got independence from Britain in 1948 and was since then supposed to become a democracy, this system never consolidated. After a coup d’état in 1962, the country was taken over by the military, which established a dictatorship`that carried out the fiercest repression against those who dared to protest for democracy over the decades. Internal struggle has lasted since then, and despite the fact that multiple upheavals have taken place and the opposition to the authoritarian regime has stood strong and even won two elections, all attempts of instituting real democracy and stability have been frustrated by the military’s refusal to let go of power.

The opposition was led since the so-called 8888 Uprising in 1988 by the democracy activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of the major general Aung San, who fought for independence from the British. Due to the pressure put on the government by the demonstrators, an election was held in 1990, with the National League For Democracy, the party led by Suu Kyi, irrefutably winning the vote. However, it was not allowed to take power -instead, the regime kept Suu Kyi under house arrest and tried to recover popularity.

This went on for two decades until in 2010, increased international pressure on top of another civil uprising -the Saffron Revolution, which got this name due to the fact that it was led by buddhist monks- made the military junta carry out a series of reforms, release Aung San Suu Kyi, and finally hold another election in 2015. It was, again, won by her party. She then became the State Counselor of Myanmar, which means that she is essentially the de facto civilian leader of the country, although she cannot be named president due to an amendment in the Constitution -that cannot be reformed because the military still has a good stake of influence in the Parliament.

With Suu Kyi in power, Myanmar is slowly opening up and transitioning into a democratic nation. Nevertheless, a serious humanitarian crisis is still taking place in the country: the rohingya, a minority ethnic group who have historically lived in the country’s state of Rakhine, have been marginalized, attacked, displaced and persecuted for decades. Their case has been ignored for years but pointed at as one of the gravest by international organizations such as the UN or Human Rights Watch. They are not only not recognized as citizens by Myanmar -neither by Bangladesh-, but have also suffered indiscriminate violence coming both from the authorities and from the population, who view them as illegal immigrants. Being a muslim minority in a majoritarily buddhist country, in addition to having been in a different side than the rest of the country during WWII, is probably the reason why the nationalist authoritarian government decided not to include the rohingya among the over 130 ethnicities that form part of the country.

With the new government, it seemed that the situation would finally become safe and stable for this mistreated people -but nothing further from the truth. Aung San Suu Kyi has inexplicably remained silent about this crisis, violence has by no means stopped, and they still suffer a disproportionate rate of poverty. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, in addition, has rejected UN teams willing to investigate the conditions the rohingya live in, and denied the organization’s assertion that an ethnic cleansing and even a genocide were happening. Although it is true that she does not control the army or security forces and that, as previously mentioned, the military still have a big influence in the government run by her, there is a big sense of disappointment and frustration towards the reaction -or more appropriately, no reaction- of Suu Kyi with this big issue. What is it that pushes a person to be fighting as a human rights activist for 30 years, and when finally having the possibility to stop injustice, not doing so? After all, she is the same woman that made the statement “Please, use your liberty to promote ours” be heard around the world.

Myanmar's current State Counselor, Aung San Suu Kyi