This document provides an overview of the geography of Southeast Asia. It describes the main regions, including mainland countries like Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as insular countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. It discusses the physical geography of the region, including climate, landforms, minerals and population patterns. It also covers the cultural, economic and political landscapes of Southeast Asia.

1. Geography of
Southeast Asia
by
Dr. S. Davgun
Fall, ‘02

2. Main Regions of Southeast Asia
 Mainland
Southeast Asia
– Myanmar (Burma)
– Thailand (Siam)
– Indochina:
• Laos
• Cambodia
(Kampuchea)
• Vietnam
 Insular
(archipelago)
Southeast Asia
– Malaysia
– Indonesia
– Singapore
– Philippines
– Brunei

3.  Indonesia (212 million) 4th most populous
country
 SE Asia has been a shatter belt
 layers of different cultures
 has about half billion (550 million) people,
about half of the population in Indonesia
and the Philippines
 not much industrialized; however
Singapore, and lately Malaysia, Thailand,
and Indonesia are making headway
 relative sparseness of population

4. Colonial Past
 Country Capital Colonizer year of Ind
 Myanmar Yangon British 1948*
 Thailand Bangkok (was a Buffer zone)
 Laos Vientiane French 1953
 Vietnam Hanoi French 1954
 Cambodia Phnom Penh French 1953
 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur British 1957
 Indonesia Jakarta Netherlands 1949
 Singapore Singapore British 1965**
 Philippines Manila Spain/USA 1946
 Brunei Bandar Sri Begawan British 1984
 East Timor Dili Portuguese 1999/2002
 * was once part of British India
 ** joined Malay in 1963, but opted to become a separate country in 1965

5. Physical Setting - Landforms
 Dominated by mountains and hills
 Mainland
– series of Mountains, running N-S, slay out of Himalayas,
arc to the south
• run parallel to each other, peaks about 10,000’
• Annamite Chain of Vietnam
• Shan Highlands of western Thailand, eastern Myanmar
• Arakan Yoma of western Myanmar
– flood plains and deltas of major rivers:
• Irrawaddy in Myanmar
• Chao Phraya in Thailand
• Mekong in Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam)
• Red River in northern Vietnam

6. Physical Setting - Landforms
Insular
Hilly islands, volcanic; some peaks are quite high; example
Mt. Pinatuba in the Philippines is about 4,875 feet high
volcanic material influence the local soils’ fertility level and
cropping patterns

7. Physical Setting - Climate
 Insular
– equatorial climate: high temperatures (80 - 90 degree F),
precipitation
• lack of seasonality
• soothing effect of water bodies
• temperatures are high all over the year
• rainfall is uniformly distributed over the year
 Mainland
– seasonality; temp. 60 - 85 degrees F
• hilly and moutains
• dry areas - leeward side of the hills; monsoons; dry winters

8. Problems of a Tropical Environment:
 By land the region is isolated - high, rugged
and malaria-infested mountains
 true tropical:
• continuous heat in lowlands,
• torrential rains
• a prolific vegetation difficult to clear and keep cleared
• soils - leached and poor affects the agriculture
• a high incidence of disease
• 4 - 6 months dry season in Indochinese Peninsula
• infertility of soils in insular
• erosion is so rapid that rivers carry lots mud and silt

9. Areal Organization:
 Mainland
– formation of national corelands around the major
river basins
• rivers provide: soil enriching flood waters, water supplies
for irrigation, primary corridors of transportation
• river basins contain the most productive agricultural
environments, and the most dense concentration of
population
 Archipelagic
– no single, clear pattern
– role of European colonial powers

10. Marine Location and Accessibility
 Only Laos is a landlocked country
 Sea is more a tie than a barrier
 Strait of Malacca (Sumatra-Malaya Peninsula)
is one of the busiest maritime traffic
– Singapore the busiest seaport.

11. Physical Setting - Minerals
 Petroleum is the most important mineral resource:
– about 5% of global production
– Indonesia (oilfields in Sumatra, Kalimantan), Malaysia (in
Sarawak), Brunei, and Myanmar
– offshore oilfields between Sumatra and Java, off northern
Borneo, and out in South China Sea
– Brunei - petro-dollars turned it world’s one of the richest
countries; “Kuwait of SE Asia”
– Japan - the major customer
 The most important single metallic ore - Tin
– 2/5 (40%) of world’s production
• 1/5 (20%) from Malaysia, another 1/5 from Indonesia+ Thailand
 Philippines - copper, silver, and gold

12. Cultural Patterns - Population Patterns
 Compared to East and South Asia, sparseness of people. (550
million)
– Why?
• The overland routes with rest of Asia are not open.
• SE Asia is not an area of limitless agricultural potentials and
possibilities; rough topography, lack extensive plains
 The three most populous countries in SE Asia:
– Indonesia 212 million
• most of these people (125 million) are in Java island
– Vietnam 81 million
– Philippines 79 million
 Population growth rate is 1.6%,; low in Singapore, Thailand,
and Vietnam. Why?
 R->U migration, to big cities. Why?

13. Influences of Foreign Cultures
 The Indian Impact:
– by sea; for trade; established colonies
• Burma, Malay Peninsula and Western Indonesia
– brought religions - Hinduism, Buddhism; various cultural
traits from India
– modern migration; Tamil labor in Malayan plantations,
Burma
 Chinese Impact:
– cultural influences
– modern migration; commercial economy of SE Asia (except
Burma)
• in Malay - tin miners, plantations
• resented by many indigenous groups

14. Cultural Landscape
 Various Religions:
– Buddhism in Mainland and Islam in
Insular SE Asia; Christianity in the
Philippines
 Various Languages
 Different Political Systems
 Insurgencies:
– due to cultural and ethnic diversity,
regionalism, and colonialism

15. Economic Landscape: Agriculture
 Different agricultural practices:
– Subsistence
– Shifting/slash-and-burn
– commercial
• plantations
• Green Revolution
– Rice major crop; wheat in Thailand
 surplus, exports of some agricultural products
– rice: Burma (Myanmar), Vietnam
– natural rubber, tea
 Problems: limited land, infertile land, leached soils
 Drugs from Golden Triangle - Burma, Laos Thailand

16. Economic Landscape: Industries
 lack of industrialization
– lack of mineral resources
– was not encouraged by colonizers
– aftermath of WW II
– regional disunity
 Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and
Indonesia rapidly growing
– why?
 Laos the poorest nation in SE Asia

17. Political Landscape
 After WW II, power vacuum in some countries
 Insurgencies; Communists and nationalists
 conflicts;
– outsiders
– ethnic goups
• Myanmar
• Indonesia
• Malyasia
– 50+% Malay, Chinese and Indians
– Political ideologies
• Khmer Rouge killed about 2 million in Cambodia