South East Asia Geography

SOUTH EAST ASIA

SOUTH EAST ASIA

Objectives:

1. Know the countries that make up the South East Asian region.

2. Describe the geographical features of the region that makes it unique among other regions of Asia.

3. Identify the different events that turned and molded the tide of history of this region.

4. Analyze the current events that are shaping the region and its effects on the ASEAN society.

Geography of South East Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions:

Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, and Christmas Island.

Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, and West Malaysia. Virtually all of Southeast Asia lies between the tropics, and so there are similarities in climate as well as plant and animal life throughout the region. Temperatures are generally warm, although it is cooler in highland areas. Many sea and jungle products are unique to the region, and were therefore much desired by international traders in early times. For example, several small islands in eastern Indonesia were once the world’s only source of cloves, nutmeg, and mace. The entire region is affected by the monsoon winds, which blow regularly from the northwest and then reverse to blow from the southeast. These wind systems bring fairly predictable rainy seasons, and before steamships were invented, these wind systems also enabled traders from outside the region to arrive and leave at regular intervals. Because of this reliable wind pattern, Southeast Asia became a meeting place for trade between India and China, the two great markets of early...