Southeast Asia: Parts 1 and 2

Themes

• Diversity of peoples

• Internal disparities of wealth

• Transformation of the Tropical Environment

• Labor and Resources Geared towards Global Marketplace

• Challenges to national unity

• Changes in family structure

Terms:  Peninsular SE Asia (connected to Asia)

Indochina: The French Colony that became Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos

Landforms & Climate

– Peninsular SE Asia and Borneo, Sumatra, & Java are part of the Eurasian plate uplift that created Himalayas

• All connected/above water in last ice age

• Volcanoes, earthquakes, and mudslides are common both where it meets Indian plate and where it meets the Philippine plate

– Philippines part of Pacific Ring of Fire

– Australian bio-region separated from Asian bio-region by the Makassar Strait

• Only land animals that made it across were people, dogs and rats

– The climate is tropical with temperatures consistently above 65° F with heavy rains.

• Mainland has wet summer monsoon, islands wet all year

– El Nino and its cooler drier air causes drought

• Home to some of world’s biggest rain forests

– Logging here has been extreme, by both multinationals and locals

Environmental Issues

• A major world region for resource extraction, especially forestry and mining

– Resources are extracted, then sold abroad. Only a fraction of profits are reinvested in host countries

• Deforestation

– Rain forests are being destroyed here twice as fast as the Amazon, because of less oversight

– Much of the wood illegally for commercial agriculture and shifting cultivation (though a lot of the wood is sold for use as paper or woodwork in U.S. and Europe)

• Shifting cultivation worked when fewer people.   Now, marginal hillside land is cleared, and eroded away

– The Philippines went from 75% old growth forest in 1900 to 2% today

Environmental Issues (cont.)

• Mining

– Mechanical strip-mining is highly disruptive to the land, but widely practiced here because of lax regulation

• Grasberg Mountain Mine in West Papua is one of world’s largest, damages most environments in the territory through pollution and flooding

– Creates millions of dollars a day, will be mined for a century

» Is Indonesia’s largest tax payer, won’t let West Papua go

• Is typically that politically weak local people don’t have say over their environments when rich corporations target them

• Air Pollution

– Forest fires, combined with unfavorable wind patterns and normal auto/industrial pollution, can cause toxic clouds to sit over SE Asian cities that require face masks

• Regulations hard to enforce; in Indonesia, children are paid to ride as passengers in car pool lanes, and stop traffic

• Many islands in this region are volcanic (unlike Oceania), but still face shifting coastline

– Inland areas impacted by changing weather patterns, snow-melt water flow, rising delta sea levels.

Peopling of SE Asia

– Two main groups combined in indigenous population:

• Australo-Melanesians (60,000 ybp)

– Came from N India, Burma

– Make up native pops of New Guinea, Australia

• Austronesian (began 10,000 to 5000 ybp)

– From SE China, got to other islands and peninsular SE Asia

– Incredibly skilled seafarers, got from Easter Island to Madagascar

• These groups no longer distinct, other groups have come in (esp. from SE China), making it a mix like the Balkans

– Islamic influence from South Asia

» Indonesia largest Muslim country: Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand all partly Muslim

– Also Hindus and Buddhists, later Christains

• Angkor (Cambodia) once one of world’s great cities

Colonialism

– Over the past five centuries, Japan, Europe, and the United States have influenced SE Asia.

– Portuguese first, turned Timor-Leste Catholic; Spain held Philippines for 350 years, also Catholic

– Dutch East India Company held exclusive trading rights to most of Indonesia, in concert with local rulers – little cultural impact

• In late 19^th century, Dutch force farmers onto plantations, Islam becomes form of resistance

– Brits take Malaysia, Singapore, Burma to control access to China

– French Catholic missionaries, then French to Laos, Cam., Viet.

– Thailand remains independent as a buffer

Independence

– The Philippines started the independence movement against Spain in late 19^th cent.

• Became colony of the United States (1899) after Spanish-American War.

– Japanese take many of Europe’s colonies

• Originally greeted as liberators, turn out to be as bad or worse

– Independence comes mostly after WWII

• Outside of French controlled areas, export led economic growth occurs

– Cities grow quickly, a middle class emerges alongside a large underpaid and underemployed workforce

Independence in Indochina

– French keep influence even after independence

• In Vietnam, nationalist movement does not start out communist, only support from China and USSR

– French lose in 1954, U.S. takes over

• Ho Chi Minh in North, U.S. puppet gov. in South

– After U.S. goes, unites under communists

• Country destroyed by napalm, massacres, mines

• 4.5 million people killed, 4.5 million injured

– Economic sanctions until 1993

– The war destabilizes Cambodia

• Khmer Rogue comes to power, empties cities, kills almost all educated people (2 million died)

– Vietnam invades to stabilize country

Population Patterns

• Some areas are mostly empty (especially in highlands), but most of population is concentrated in dense rural patches, especially river deltas, coasts and flood plains where they can farm, fish, or live in cities

– Cities (Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok) are also growing rapidly, attracting immigrants from the countryside

• Birth rate slowed in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, where women’s education is the highest

– Singapore encouraging citizens to have kids

– Regional population will double in 40 years (Laos and Cambodia, where women’s literacy rates are lower (and which are more rural) grow faster)

• Amongst world’s highest HIV rates

– Thailand is epicenter (followed by Burma), large sex industry and IV drug use.  It was the leading cause of death.

• Condom programs helped slow spread, but they lost funding.  Now treatment is more available.

Economic Issues

– Though famed for industrial output growth, service and agriculture also very important sectors

– Agriculture

• 60% of population in villages, but only 1/6 of GDP

– Many also do wage work part-time, fish, or participate in forestry

– More important in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Burma

• Sparsely populated uplands home to shifting cultivation like other tropical areas

• Lowlands home to relatively environmentally friendly wet rice paddy agriculture

– Increasingly people selling land to large agriculture companies for green revolution rice or export fruits or oils

Industrialization

• Manufacturing type varies from:

– Simple: food processing, textile and shoes

– Complex: automobile assembly, high end textile, chemical refining, electronics components

• More common in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore (a little in Indonesia, Philippines)

• Growth from state led capitalism

– Favored export agriculture

– Also Import Substitution, BUT, focused on cheap consumer goods, not middle class or luxury items for which there was only a small internal market.  It worked better.

• Rapid growth in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and now Vietnam following similar path

Industrialization (cont.)

• EPZs

– In the 1970’s, added Export Processing Zones to development mix

• Allow foreign companies to assemble and export goods

• EPZs employ a 90% female labor force. Called the feminization of labor

– Young, single women seen as least likely to organize, agitate for higher wages

» Filipina workers seen as more activist

• Growth Triangles

– Singapore with its good infrastructure and educated population, works with low cost, water rich areas in Malaysia and Indonesia to provide range of environments multinationals find attractive

• Poorer areas home to many harmful factories

– Western companies now use sub-contractors as a way to pass the buck for labor abuses

• However, service sector is growing rapidly, working conditions better there

Tourism

– One of the world’s biggest employers

• Is easy way to get more dollars into economy

– SE Asian countries emphasized it as development strategy, now major destination for East Asians and Europeans

• Malaysia a leading destination from Persian Gulf oil countries, b/c it has large Islamic population

– Tourism may threaten cultural historical sites and local cultures as well as the natural environment.

– Thailand’s sex tourism industry, developed for troops post WWII, involves organized crime, bribe taking officials kidnapping of girls from North Thailand and Burma

• Also sustained by local male population

Economic Crisis

– In 1997, cascading economic crisis hit the region.

– Lead up

• In 1980’s, foreign competition for domestic markets

– Many items by international companies made locally to be sold locally

• This led to investment in general, and many local banks became flush with money

– Caused stock price inflation. Also investment in risky business ventures, especially high rise real estate.

» Led to glut of unsold real estate

– Also because of crony capitalism, where business leaders are connected to government, much money went into bribes

– Investments did not pan out, capital fled the region

• IMF bailed out banks (and their foreign investors, creating moral hazard), wanted to open profitable parts of economy to foreign investment

– Malaysia stopped capital flight, initially better off for it

Economic Crisis (cont)

• Positive economic growth rates returned by 2000

• Consequences

– Low-income people lost jobs and had small economic cushions upon which to rely.

– Southeast Asian currencies were devalued; increased prices affected all consumers.

– Many urban workers who no longer have connections to the countryside cannot get help in the form of food during hard times.

– The region realized the implications of too great a dependency on foreign investment, and when it is withdrawn, the region suffers.

– Recognize need to avoid speculation

• Looking towards Association of South East Asian Nations as a regional trade block

Politics

– Some regional leaders argued “Asian values” incompatible with chaos of democracy

• Most people in region disagree, want to hold governments accountable

– In Indonesia (the world’s fourth largest country), the government policy was Pancasila

• 5 points: Belief in God, conformity, corporatism, consensus and harmony

• In practice, dominance by Sukarno & Suharto

– Indonesia is a diverse country, with lots of sub-national groups

• Timor-Leste long occupied, now independent

• Movements in West Papua among indigenous against settlers, in Moluccas by Christians, and Aceh b/c of oil

• Jakarta now gives limited autonomy, empowers local govs (could lead to more corruption)

– The whole situation has improved since democracy, but still far from perfect.

Politics (cont.)

• Progress Toward Democracy

– Increased economic growth and literacy provide people with tools to question existing regimes.

• In Indonesia massive demonstrations led to Suharto’s resignation and elections

– The military regime in Burma was incredibly resilient, closed off.

• Had Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for years; major crackdowns after recent monk protests; but in 2011-12, a move towards democracy and a lot of activists now in peace talks

– Unfortunately, the stateless Rohingya (a Muslim minority group) is still persecuted and forced to live in prison camp like conditions.

• Terrorism

– Long time fighting between regional rebels and separatist groups

– Now, groups like Jemaah Islamiah attack Western interests, have links to Al Qaeda

• Little support, but gov. attacks often harsh

– Also was heart (along with Somalia) of revived piracy problem

Population Patterns

• Some areas are mostly empty (especially in highlands), but most of population is concentrated in dense rural patches, especially river deltas, coasts and flood plains where they can farm, fish, or live in cities

– Cities (Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok) are also growing rapidly, attracting immigrants from the countryside

• Birth rate slowed in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, where women’s education is the highest (and Vietnam has 2 child policy)

– Singapore encouraging citizens to have kids

– Regional population will double in 40 years (Laos and Cambodia, where women’s literacy rates are lower (and which are more rural) grow faster)

• Amongst world’s highest AIDS rates

– Thailand is epicenter (followed by Burma), large sex industry and IV drug use.  It is the leading cause of death.

• Condom programs helped slow spread, but they lost funding

– Fear for rural areas, peripheral cities, Muslim countries where talk about sex is taboo

Sociocultural Issues

• Cultural Pluralism

– Southeast Asia is a place of cultural complexity.

• Some indigenous peoples, most people are a cultural and biological mix of many ethnic groups.

• Adding to this diversity, there has been in-migration into the region from India and China especially

– 26 million Overseas Chinese live in SE Asia, in both business and laboring classes

» Perception they are wealthy and insular leads to scapegoating

– Malaysia is divided between Malays, Indians and Chinese

– Still, there are a 1000 languages, little intermarriage until recently – so not a melting pot

Religious Pluralism

• Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity, and animism all found in region

• On mainland, Buddhism is largest religion; Islam in Malaysia, Indonesia (also minority Thai, Phil)

• Animism was first, its beliefs merged into other religions in syncretism

– In the Philippines, animist traditions survive during Christian holidays

– Islam is least orthodox here

» Traditional ancestor worship, magic alongside Islamic practices

» In Malaysia and Indonesia, divorce rates high, until right marriage match is found/people mature

• Hinduism on Bali, returned in 19^th century by Indian migrants.

Family, Work and Gender

– Couples often live with the wife’s parents, even in predominately Islamic areas.

• Man lives under authority of father-in-law, young wife acts as go between and manager

• Women in Indonesia often get divorced, even plan for their own self-sufficiency while married,

– Throughout region, women manage family money

– In urban areas, both partners usually work, sometimes one grandparent moves in later in marriage

– Many rural people spent part time in city, part time in rural areas

• Women increasingly getting factory work everywhere, in some countries are getting more degrees than men

– Incomes still unequal

Migration

• Rural-to-Urban Migration

– Both push (bad things at home) and pull factors (good things in new destination) are at work

– Migrants often leave behind young and old family members, whom they in turn support by remittances.

• Resettlement Schemes

– Move groups of rural people from overpopulated areas to less dense areas. (most common in Indonesia)

• Reasons include: food production, regional development, national integration, and population redistribution.

– Often moved to indigenous areas, or areas with little agriculture potential

• Indonesia has largely abondoned these once democracy came

Migration (cont.)

• Migration out of the Region

– Done by both skilled and unskilled migrants

• Is a major source of foreign currency (#1 in Philippines)

– Women now make up 60-80% of the migrants

• Filipinas work as nurses all over the developed world

– In SW Asia, work in food service, hotels because of familiarity with English

• Indonesian women work as maids in SW Asia

– Men make up low and mid level employees in merchant marine, making middle class incomes

• Refugees from Conflict and Disaster

– Conflict mostly between central governments and minority groups, or settlers and minority groups

– December 2004 Tsunami displaced 130,000 persons (killed nearly as many)

Measures of Human Well-Being

• GDP and HDI is very high (in Singapore and oil-rich Brunei) to moderately high (in, Malaysia, and Thailand) to very low (in Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Timor Leste).

• The UN’s Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) has missing data for five countries in the region.

– Singapore is highest; women often work, but often for lower wages than men

• Compared to South Asia and Africa, even the poorer countries are improving

– Many of the highest educated women in nursing and technical professions from Philippines and Malaysia leave their countries for better salaries