SOUTHEAST ASIA
DEFINING THE REALM
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
SOUTHEAST ASIA
Major 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 ASIA
Major 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
SOUTHEAST ASIA
• 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.
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 ASIA
European Imperial History:
COLONIALISM’S HERITAGE: HOW
THE POLITICAL MAP EVOLVED
 France – Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia.
 Britain – Burma, Malaysia.
 Netherlands – “Spice Islands”
(Indonesia).
 Spain – Philippines.
• 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.
SOUTHEAST ASIA’S
EMERGING 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
Prospects of Realmwide Integration: ASEAN
international linkages and global
influence.
•ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
‒ Supranational organization with goals of political
• Largest container port in the world.
stability and increased regional integration.
• Superb relative location.
‒ Recurrent problem—air pollution.
• Large and deep natural harbor.
•AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement)
• Symbol of modernity.
‒ Lowering of tariffs has encourage an upsurge in
trade.
•Some foreign investment shifting from China to
Southeast Asia because of lower wages.
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.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
STATES AND BOUNDARIES
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.