SOUTHEAST ASIA

Topics:•Earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanoes

•The mixed blessings of palm oil

•The Overseas Chinese and the connection with East Asia

•Singapore’s centrality

•ASEAN to counter Chinese dominance

•State territorial morphology: why the shape of a country matters

DEFINING THE REALM

SOUTHEAST ASIAMajor Geographic Qualities

• Southeast Asia extends from the peninsular mainland to the archipelagos offshore.

• Shatter Belt between powerful adversaries, fractured cultural and political geography shaped by foreign intervention.

• Dominated by high relief, crustal instability, volcanic activity and earthquakes, and tropical climates.

• Majority of population live in Indonesia and the Philippines.

• Similar ancestry but cultural divisions and local traditions abound.

SOUTHEAST ASIAMajor Geographic Qualities

• Political geography exhibits a variety of boundary types and several categories of state territorial morphology.

• The Mekong River has its source in China and borders or crosses five Southeast Asian countries; important to farmers, fishing people, and boat owners.

• Singapore is the leading world city in Southeast Asia and lies at the realm’s center of trade and business relations.

• Contains rapidly emerging markets and fast-growing economies; widening income disparities and uneven development.

A GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW

• Mainland and insular geographies.• Bounded by India and China

‒ Introduced traders, settlers, and cultural influences.

• Commerce -Arabs, Chinese, India.• Europeans—built empires.• Buffer Zone—between powerful

adversaries.• Shatter Belt—fractured politically,

culturally, physically, and economically.

• Indonesia- Realm’s Giant‒ Territory and population.

• The Philippines—once an American colony, with Spanish influence.‒ Tropical storms common.

• Singapore, Malaysia —”Global city”‒ Spectacular economic success.

• Myanmar (Burma)‒ A military-ruled state to 2012

representative government.

SOUTHEAST ASIA

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire.

• 2004 undersea earthquake off westernmost Indonesia:‒ Tsunami (seismic sea wave)

in the Indian Ocean killed more than 300,000 people from Sumatera to Somalia.

• Volcanic eruptions‒ 1883—Krakatau volcano‒ 1815—Tambora volcano• “Year without a summer”

• High relief dominates on both the mainland and islands.

Tropical Storms/Hurricanes:Tropical systems begin in Pacific/Indian Oceans

Typhoon Haiyan, Philippines (2013) Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar (2008)

Exceptional Borneo

•No volcanoes and negligible Earth tremors.•“Mini-continent” amid a mass of volcanic activity.•Slab of ancient crust pushed up above sea level by tectonic forces.•Equatorial rainforests developed, giving sanctuary to countless plant and animal species.•Human encroachment destroyed forest by logging, road building, and farming.•Palm oil plantation expansion single largest threat to tropical forests and habitat.

Biodiversity•Stepping stone from Asia to New Guinea to Australia.

•Migration of animal species and humans during changing climatic periods.

•Biodiversity—estimated 10% of Earth’s plant and animals species are found in this realm.

‒Birds of Paradise, Orangutan, Corals

•Spices—specialized plants of realm‒Attracted outsiders from India, China, and Europe.‒“Dutch East India Trading Company”

Four Major Rivers•Natural moist, equatorial conditions.

•Population distribution reflects relationship between rivers and people.

•Important for water, agriculture, and transportation.

•Population clustered at coastal river deltas.

•Four Rivers‒ Mekong (4 states -> Cambodia)‒ Red (Vietnam)‒ Irrawaddy (Myanmar)‒ Chao Phraya (Thailand)

POPULATION GEOGRAPHY

The Ethnic Mosaic

•Peoples come from a common origin.

•Local ethnic or cultural groups emerged regionally.

•Mainland spatial coincidence.

•Major ethnic groups and political states:

‒ Burman—Myanmar‒ Thai—Thailand‒ Khmer—Cambodia and into Laos‒ Vietnamese-Vietnam

•Island nations‒ Indonesians, Filipinos, and Malays

collectively known as Indonesians.

• Jawa (Java)—Indonesia‒ Contains over half the country’s

population.‒ Fertile volcanic soils, ample

water, and warm temperatures.‒ Very productive rice farming.

• Indonesia is 4th-ranking country in world’s population.‒ 242 Million People

• Mainland populations reflect less favorable natural conditions to farming.

The Chinese•Largest immigrant minority.

•Long history of migration from China.

•Gained control over commerce.

•Tensions between local ethnic majorities and Chinese minorities.

RELIGIONS OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

• Historic crossroads of religions• Hinduism and Buddhism from

South Asia• Islam from Southwest Asia• Lead to great cultural diversity• Buddhism

‒ Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia

• Islam‒ Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia

• Local cultural expression• Angkor Wat—Cambodia

‒ Originally a Hindu temple but later became a place of worship for Buddhists

• Vietnam‒ Blending Hinduism, Buddhism,

Daoism, and Confucianism

SOUTHEAST ASIACOLONIALISM’S HERITAGE: HOW

THE POLITICAL MAP EVOLVED

• Europeans arrived into a politically fragmented realm.

• Cultural diversity of societies.

• None had risen to imperial power.

• European colonizers forged empires.

• Formed comparatively large, multicultural states.

• Foreign intervention created the contemporary political map.

European Imperial History:

France – Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia.Britain – Burma, Malaysia.Netherlands – “Spice Islands” (Indonesia).Spain – Philippines.

SOUTHEAST ASIA’SEMERGING MARKETS

• Emerging markets—Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia.‒ Attracted foreign investment and

exhibited robust economic growth rates.

Singapore’s Centrality• Economic heart of Southeast Asia.• Leading node—connections and

centrality in a wider economic network.• Top-tier world city due to its

international linkages and global influence.

• Largest container port in the world.• Superb relative location.• Large and deep natural harbor.• Symbol of modernity.

Prospects of Realmwide Integration: ASEAN•ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)

‒ Supranational organization with goals of political stability and increased regional integration.

‒ Recurrent problem—air pollution.

•AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement)‒ Lowering of tariffs has encourage an upsurge in

trade.

•Some foreign investment shifting from China to Southeast Asia because of lower wages.

SOUTHEAST ASIASTATES AND BOUNDARIES

Classifying Boundaries•Physiographic—conform to elongated features in the natural landscape.

•Ethnocultural—coincide with historic breaks or transitions in the cultural landscape.

•Geometric—simply straight lines defined by endpoint coordinates.

•Most boundaries defined by European colonial powers.

•Some boundaries have triggered problems between countries.

Jakarta, Indonesia

States and Territorial Morphology•Territorial morphology—shape of a state’s territory affects a state’s condition and even survival.

•5 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 in which the length is at least six times the average width; creating cultural or 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, so that they have a “hole” in them.

Homework

1. Read Textbook Chapter 10 2. Homework: • Choose one “@from the Field Notes”

subsection topic in Ch.10 textbook; research and summarize (1 page).

OR• Choose a realm/region within Southeast

Asia to review. Regions include Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines. Choose a topic relating to Southeast Asia’s current events to research and write about.