1. Chapter 10: The Southeast Asian Realm

5. Landforms of Southeast Asia
Shan Highlands
Arakan Yoma
Mountain chains and valleys
Red River
Irrawady
Annamite Chain
Chao Phrya
Mekong
Archipelagos
Pegunungan
Barisan
Maoke

6. Shipping Lanes and Strategic Passages in Pacific Asia

7. Mainland and insular physiographies
A Geographic Overview
A crossroad realm
Mainland and insular physiographies
Realm’s giant: Indonesia.
Archipelago – island chain.
Size of area and population.
Borders of the realm:
India and China: source of immigrants, cultural infusion, economic interaction, and conflicts.

8. Southeast Asia’s Physical Geography
Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire:
2004 undersea earthquake and tsunami of Indian Ocean.
Volcanic eruptions: Some have provided a better understanding of the complex climate system.
High-relief realm dominates on both the mainland and insular regions.

9. Tectonic Activity in Indonesia: Volcanism
300 volcanoes of which 200 have been historically active

10. Southeast Asia’s Physical Geography: Exceptional Borneo
“Mini-continent” amid a mass of volcanic activity:
No volcanoes and negligible tremors.
Slab of ancient crust uplifted above sea level and subsequently eroded.
Ecosystems:
Equatorial rainforests once a sanctuary to countless plant and animal species.
Known for its biodiversity: 10 percent of world’s plant and animal species are estimated to be found there.
Today, much destroyed by logging, roads, and farms.
What would be the main elements of the physical geography of Southeast Asia?

11. Palm-Oil Plantations and Deforestation…
Versatile palm oil
Cooking and dressings.
Butter and fat substitute.
Cosmetics.
Today, very lucrative agricultural crop
High yields and demand.
Rising prices.
Plantation expansion single largest threat to tropical forests and habitat
Pressures for sustainability

12. Palm-Oil Plantations and Deforestation…

13. Southeast Asia’s Physical Geography: Four Major Rivers
Well endowed with moisture
Areas of daily rainfall.
Population distribution highlights relationship between people and rivers:
Water and agriculture.
Transportation arteries.
Coastal clusters at river deltas.

14. Irrawaddy
Red River Delta
Luzon
Chao Phraya
Mekong Delta
Java

15. Indonesia’s noteworthy Java population cluster:
Population Geography
Indonesia’s noteworthy Java population cluster:
More than half the country’s population.
Fertile volcanic soils, ample water, and warmth.
Other clusters are fast-growing urban areas.
Manila.
Kuala Lumpur.

16. Southeast Asia’s Physical Geography: Four Major Rivers
The Mighty Mekong
Food, water, transport.
Production of rice and vegetables on the floodplains.
Along the riverbanks during the dry season.
Upstream politics:
China’s dam projects.
Managing flow volumes.
Other rivers in the realm are local:
Red River of Vietnam and its capital Hanoi
Chao Phraya River in Thailand and its capital, Bangkok,
Irrawaddy River in Myanmar with its largest city, Yangon, sitting on the delta.
Burma
Thailand
Laos
Cambodia
Vietnam
China
4,800 km (12th longest in
the world)

17. Population Geography: The Ethnic Mosaic
Common stock with local ethnic/cultural groups
Mainland spatial coincidence:
Major ethnic groups and political states.
Thai, Khmer, Viet, Lao, Burmese.
Island nations’ ethnic groups
Indonesians but fragmented (Malay, Javanese, Filipino).
Some major ethnic minorities come from outside the realm.
South Asian peoples.
Some during European colonial period.
Others from early Buddhist migrations.

19. Population Geography: The Ethnic Mosaic
Minorities present in remote peripheries:
Uplands or dense forests.
Altitudinal ethnic stratification
Prevalent in Monsoon Asia, especially Southeast Asia.
Fertile / flatland occupied by the dominant ethnic group; higher populations.
Marginalization increases with altitude; isolation and lower populations.
Mekong
Lowlands: Vietnamese / Khmer.
Midlands: Lao.
Highlands: Hmong.
Minorities
Minorities
Dominant ethnic group
Lowlands
Midlands
Highlands

20. Ethnic Composition in Southeast Asia
Country
90%
80%
60%
40%
20%
10% 5%
Burma
Burmese
Karen Shan Chinese
Cambodia
Khmer
Vietnamese
Indonesia
Javanese
Sudanese
Madurese Chinese
Laos
Lao Loum
Lao Theung
Lao Sung
Malaysia
Malay
Chinese
Indian
Philippines
Cebuano Tagalog
Iloko Panay- Hiligaynon
Bikol Bisaya Chinese
Singapore
Thailand
Thai
Vietnam
Lao Montagnard Chinese

21. Population Geography: The Ethnic Mosaic
The Tragedy of the Karen
Nearly 7 million tribal people living in the mountainous border between Burma and Thailand.
Rebelled against the Burmese government to gain independence.
Burmese army overran most of Karen territory and gained control of the teak forests.

22. Population Geography: The Chinese
Long history of migration out of China
Particularly southern China.
Overseas Chinese Concentration in cities
Chinatowns.
Today the realm has more than two-thirds of the world’s total:
Tensions with local ethnic majorities.

24. Regional Issue: The Chinese Presence in Southeast Asia
THE CHINESE ARE TOO INFLUENTIAL!
Chinese were given privilege and separateness.
Chinese act on their own behalf, not as part of the country in which they live and work.
Chinese exploit Southeast Asian opportunities and shared resources.
THE CHINESE ARE INDISPENSABLE!
All minorities have troubles.
Others are resentful of Chinese resourcefulness and success.
Chinese aloofness depends on the state context.
Chinese have made great contributions.
Southeast Asia is an ethnic mosaic, explain what it means and the role of the Chinese in the region,

25. Religions of Southeast Asia
Historic crossroads of religions:
Hinduism and Buddhism from South Asia
Islam from Southwest Asia
Leads to great cultural diversity:
Different countries trend toward one religious system, yet there is the presence of other significant religious groups.
Much cultural expression has been through infusion of foreign elements.

26. Tourism in Southeast Asia
A wide variety of favorable factors
Tourism about 5 to 10% of the GDP.
Proximity to China and Japan.
Tropical and subtropical climate.
Substantial coastal areas.
Extensive ecosystems.
Cultural and religious diversity.

27. Tourism in Southeast Asia: The Dark Side
“One night in Bangkok”
Known for its sex tourism industry:
Thai culture liberal and tolerant.
Prostitution culturally accepted.
Subservient role of women.
Thailand was a neutral country; among the few safe spots in SE Asia.
Development of “sex districts”; Patpong:
Night clubs, bars, massage parlors.
Prostitutes increasingly coming from outside Thailand:
“Lack of supply”.
Each year, at least 10,000 girls and women enter Thailand from poorer neighboring countries for prostitution (Burma, Cambodia and Laos).

28. Tourism in Southeast Asia: Medical Tourism
A global health care center?
Socialization of medicine, corporate interests and aging of the population making healthcare unaffordable.
Medical procedures 80% less costly than Europe and the US.
Hearth bypass surgery; $100,000 in the US, $20,000 in Thailand.
World class level of service.
High grade facilities looking like hotels.
Bumrungrad Hospital (Bangkok):  520,000 international patients per year in 2012.
Mixing health care and tourism (post operation).

29. Colonialism’s Heritage: How the Political Map Evolved
Europeans arrived to a politically fragmented realm:
Mainland river basins and plains as well as the islands produced a cultural diversity of societies.
European colonization involved “divide and rule”:
Out of that strategy they forged comparatively large, multicultural states.
Foreign intervention created the contemporary political map.
French Indochina
Southeast Asian empire was called Indochina.
Indo- referred to South Asian cultural imprints.
Five French dependencies became three political states:
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

30. Colonialism’s Heritage: How the Political Map Evolved
British Imperialism
Burma: part of the South Asian British Empire:
Not part of South Asian religious-borne partition
Malaya: system of colonies and protectorates
Malaya refers to the geographic area of the Malaysian peninsula.
It eventually became the complex Malaysian Federation.

31. Colonialism’s Heritage: How the Political Map Evolved
Netherlands “East Indies”
“Spice Islands”: Name came from lucrative spice commerce between Arab, Indian, and Chinese traders.
Europeans’ great lengths to control the trade:
Spices to conserve food and add flavor
Very high demand, and thus very lucrative in Europe
Jawa: the focus of Dutch colonial administration:
Dutch East India Company and the Dutch government extended influence over the smaller islands over time.
Colonialism paved the way for creation of the realm’s largest state.

32. Colonialism’s Heritage: How the Political Map Evolved
From Spain to the United States
Spanish control of the Philippines:
Spread Catholicism and staved off Islamic incursions in the south
Manila: a profitable waystation in travel across the Pacific
Spanish-American War:
Already the Spanish were facing an indigenous uprising.
Spain was forced to settle following the brief war:
Ceded the Philippines to the United States
Local revolt for a time, but ultimately unsuccessful
How Southeast Asia was divided by colonialism?

34. Southeast Asia’s Emerging Markets
Emerging markets – attracting substantial foreign investment with strong economic growth
Especially Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
But discrepancies in growth rates and per-capita incomes persist.
Singapore
Leading node, or point of connectivity to wider economic network:
Top-tier world city due to its international linkages and global influence.
Symbol of modernity:
Skyline, industries, and economic prowess.
Exceptional regional position:
Relative location for trade and shipping.
Physiography with large and deep natural harbor.

35. ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations:
Southeast Asia’s Emerging Markets: Prospects of Realmwide Integration: ASEAN
ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations:
Supranational organization with goals of realmwide political stability and increased regional integration.
Constant challenges:
Diversity of its member-states: economic and cultural differences.
Conflict between member-states: cultural contention and competing territorial claims.
Environmental problems: realmwide pollution.
AFTA, the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement:
Organization’s expansion into the economic domain:
Lowering of tariffs has encouraged an intra-realm trade boom.
With lower wages than China, some foreign investments have shifted here.
There has been a surge of intra-realm trade.

36. China in Southeast Asia: Boosting Economic Development
Significant changes due to ASEAN:
China now provides most imports.
Chinese investments.
Growing unease due to Chinese assertiveness in the region may result in too much dependence.

37. China in Southeast Asia: Geopolitics in the South China Sea
Chinese claims includes:
80 percent of the South China Sea.
40 islands China says are illegally occupied by other countries.
More about sovereignty over water and seafloor.
Most important conflicts:
Paracel Islands.
Spratly Islands.
Scarborough Shoal.

38. States and Boundaries: State and Territorial Morphology
Territorial morphology: the shape of a state’s territory:
Affects a state’s condition and even survival.
Five dominant territorial configurations:
Compact states: near round or rectangular shapes with no major indentations.
Protruded states: substantial, usually compact territory with an extended peninsular corridor.
Elongated states: territorial dimensions where length is much greater than the average width; result in cultural and environmental transitions.
Fragmented states: two or more territorial units separated by foreign territory or substantial body of water.
Perforated states: completely surrounded by the territory of another state; appear as a “hole” in another state.

39. Discuss the main types of territorial configurations in Southeast Asia