Southeast Asia: Of Tigers and Turmoil
Abstract
Southeast Asia -- diverse, complex, dynamic, and growing -- is an area extending from Burma in the west to the archipelagoes of Indonesia and the Philippines in the east. With over 400 million people, this region hosts 5 major religions, 10 countries, and multiple cultures. Government ideologies run the gambit from democratic Philippines to communist Vietnam to a repressive military dictatorship in Burma. Economic growth has been phenomenal for most Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, while Cambodia and Vietnam are struggling to provide a basic economic foundation to feed their people. Few regions on earth are more reflective of the richness of humankind's variety. Geostrategically, Southeast Asia is the trading cross-roads for half the world. In 1994, total trade through the Straits of Malacca, Lombok, Sunda, and the South China Sea totaled $949.5 billion. Measured in tonnage, Singapore is the busiest port in the world. Crude oil accounted for over one half of the tonnage transiting the area, most destined to fuel the economies of Japan and South Korea. In addition to being a shipping highway, the region abounds in resources of natural gas, oil, tin, and forestry products. These assets, combined with human resources and liberal economic government policies, have been the catalyst for Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia to experience rapid economic growth rates. Accompanying these successes have been an increase in population, domestic demographic shifts, and larger expenditures on military forces. The modernization of regional naval, air, and land forces has essentially become a local arms race, reflecting the nations' increasing influence, interest, and concern in regional and international affairs. This paper analyzes the United States' interests in Southeast Asia in terms of threats and opportunities and recommends a specific national security policy for the region.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA442598
Entities
People
- Ann Syrett
- Erno Szeles
- James Morris
- Jeff Kline
Organizations
- National War College