East & Southeast Asia

An overview from Colonialism through the Cold War

Overview of the RegionPopulation of over 2 billion -

nearly 1/3 of all people in the world today live in East & Southeast Asia.

Fastest growing economies in the world, but many people still live in extreme poverty

Many governments are authoritarian & repressive, but openness & democracy are on the rise

Asia’s Cultural TraditionsChina & Confucianism

◦Longest cultural history in the world, dating back 4000 years (2000 years older than Christianity)

◦Culture & political forms influenced neighbors, esp. Koreas, Japan, & Vietnam

◦Provided examples of etiquette, morals, & government

◦Believed that other countries should defer to them AS a good example

Asia’s Cultural TraditionsIndia & Buddhism

◦Nearly 2000 years ago, Indian forms of government & religion spread throughout Southeast Asia

◦Spread by priests & traders, not armies or conquest

◦Variations of Buddhism are still widely practiced in Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, & parts of China

Asia’s Cultural TraditionsIslam

◦From 14th to 16th century, traders & religious teachers spread Islam through the Maylay peninsula, Indonesian islands, & the Philippines State religion of Malaysia & Brunei 88% of Indonesians are Muslim Parts of the Philippines remain Muslim (more on Islam when we cover the

Middle East)

Asia’s Cultural TraditionsChristianity

◦More recently, Western missionaries brought Christianity to the region in the 16th Century Most people in the Philippines are

Catholic Almost half of South Koreans are

Christian

Economic & Political Changes

The regions cultures are being changed by rapid economic & political changes, caused by contact with Western culture◦TV, music, popular media, images of

what prosperity & freedom that young people want to emulate

Many governments have tried to outlaw some aspects of “corrupt” Western culture, but results are limited

ColonialismOver past four centuries, many

countries in East & Southeast Asia have been influenced or controlled by outside powers

Every country was affected by Western & Japanese Imperialism in the 19th & 20 centuries

Individual countries were affected in different ways

Colonialism14th century – Spanish priests,

merchants, & soldiers came to the regionBy 18th century, huge companies

operated like sovereign governments, taking over land & protecting monopolies

European states were competing for colonial holdings & doing business with Asian states

China limited access to its markets◦Only opium was unlimited

ColonialismChina became concerned about the

growing opium addition among its people & moved to shut it down

Great Britain objected & opened war with China – the Opium War

China lost & was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanjing◦Established 5 ports under British control◦Gave Hong Kong to British entirely◦Kept opium trade open

ColonialismChina lost another Opium War with

Britain & France in the 1850’sBy the end of the 19th Century,

Europeans controlled over 80 Chinese ports, thereby controlling most of China’s economy

U.S. & Japan also began competing for influence in the region

By 20th Century, nearly all of E & SE Asia was controlled by foreign powers

ColonialismCountries reacted to Western

Imperialism in different ways◦Some resented foreign rule & fought

against it, developing strong nationalist movements

◦Some accepted it passively◦Thailand maneuvered politically to

avoid it; it is the only country in the region that was never a colony

ColonialismInspired by Russia, China & other

countries became communist because they thought that Western Imperialism was driven by Capitalism

Japan began to imitate the military & industrial techniques of the West◦Developed economically & militarily,

eventually becoming an Imperial power themselves

◦Western powers did not recognize this until too late

Japanese Militarism1894 – 1910: series of Japanese

wars with China & Russia ended with Japanese control of:◦Formosa (now Taiwan) & the

Liaotung peninsula◦The Korean Peninsula◦Parts of the NE coast of China

(Manchuria)◦The southern part of Sakhalin Island

(north of Japan)

Japan in WW1Fought with the Allies, but used it

to their advantage to try to control China while European powers were busy fighting Germany

They conquered:◦Manchuria◦Several major inland cities◦Large coastal areas

Japan in WW2After WW1, the European colonial

states still held colonies in Southeast Asia

Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, then moved to take over the European colonies in the region

Question:

Japan does not currently control the areas it seized during WW2. What happened?

Important Leftovers from WW2

Korea was split in two◦Northern Korea surrendered to Russia &

Southern Korea surrendered to the US◦Both became pawns in the Cold War

China reacquired Taiwan, but lost it again during the communist revolution when the Nationalist government fled to Taiwan

Conflict continued in some areas as France tried to get its colonies back

Cold War in East & Southeast AsiaKorean War

◦1950 – North Korea (supported by USSR) invaded South Korea (supported by USA)

◦US sent troops to defend South Korea, with endorsement from the UN Security Council

◦As US troops neared the North Korean border, China moved to support North Korea

◦After peace negotiations, peace was reached in 1953

Cold War in East & Southeast AsiaViet Nam War

◦Like Korea, the country was divided, the north having a communist government supported by Russia & China, the south having a democratic government supported by the US

◦To defend against “Communist Aggression” the US spent billions to support the south

◦After more than ½ million deaths, the US pulled out & the north took over the south, reuniting the country

Cold War in East & Southeast AsiaRelations between the USSR &

China got worse & eventually lead to armed conflict along their shared border

In 1972, Nixon opened talks with China, changing the issue into a 3-way strategic triangle

East Asia became even more important to the Cold War

Questions to ConsiderHas North Korea developed

nuclear weapons, creating a larger threat to South Korea & the entire region?

Will Japan expand its military power or remain content to have the US provide its security?

Will the US retain a considerable military presence in the region?

Questions to ConsiderWhat will the rising economic

power of the region mean to the US?

What does our debt to China mean for the future?

How will the outsourcing of jobs to the region affect our economy in the future?