Articles in Southeast Asia
Economic Disputes and Environmental Woes in Indonesia’s Booming East Kalimantan
Indonesia’s province of East Kalimantan, located on the massive island of Borneo, is by far the most economically productive part of the country. Its Gross Regional Product is almost five times the national average, exceeding even than of Jakarta, the national capital, by a substantial margin.
Concerns over international bride flow into Korea
International marriages are on the rise worldwide, and one of the countries that “imports” many brides is South Korea. This influx of foreign brides arouses concerns as to the fate of these women who search for new opportunities outside of their home countries, both within Korea and in the “bride-exporting” countries.
Mother Goddess Worship in Vietnam
Although Vietnam is in name a Communist state, the practice of mother goddess worship endures through much of the country. For the first time, the worship of Mother Goddesses is on display at a public museum in Hanoi.
Burma’s Electricity Quandaries
In early 2012, the Burmese government again astounded many by suspending an $8 billion, 4,000-megawatt, coal-fired power plant at Dawei in the southern part of the country, due mainly to environmental concerns,
The South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea?
As the struggle for the Spratly Islands heats up, basic place names are coming into play. In the Philippines, news outlets and various official agencies now insist…
Dams and the Ignored Ethnic Conflict of Northern Burma
Recent news reports have trumpeted Burma’s (Myanmar’s) decision to suspend construction of the massive, Chinese-financed Myitsone Dam on the Irrawaddy River in the northern reaches of the country. The Economist magazine, for example, claims that the cancellation provides “mounting evidence that the new government in Yangon is serious about reform.” That assessment may well be
Subic Bay: From American Servicemen to Korean Businessmen
Subic Bay, located about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, forms a superb harborage. Its waters are deep and enclosed, and the Zambales Mountains protect it from the westward-tracking typhoons that so often batter the Philippines. Overland transport to Subic, however, is difficult, delaying its naval development until the late Spanish period. In the early
The Legacy of U.S. Military Bases in the Philippines
Through most of the Cold War, the largest U.S. foreign military bases were not located in Europe, Japan, or South Korea, but rather in central Luzon in the Philippines. Second largest was the massive facility at Subic Bay, home of the Seventh Fleet; larger still was Clark Airbase, covering 243 square miles
Pattaya Thailand: From American Troops to Russian Prostitutes
The three maps of U.S. foreign military bases posted in Geocurrents yesterday all show an American military presence in Thailand. The contingent exists but is tiny, amounting to 113 troops in the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok. The force is designed “not only to promote the initiatives and interests of the United States, but also to
Mapping Religion in Indonesia
As mentioned in Monday’s post, maps of the global distribution of Islam often portray Indonesia and Malaysia as solidly Muslim countries. The close-up segment of the popular map “World Muslim Distribution (Sunni and Shia) 1995” posted above, for example, colors Malaysia and Indonesia* a uniform shade of light green, indicating the prevalence of
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Diversity Amid Globalization: World Regions, Environment, Development (5th Edition)
Globalization and Diversity: Geography of a Changing World (3rd Edition)
