A Short History of South-East Asia Read online

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Preface

  Introduction Introduction to the Sixth Edition

  Introduction to the 2009 Fifth Edition

  Introduction to the 2006 Fourth Edition

  Introduction to the 2003 Third Edition

  Introduction to the 1999 Second Edition

  Chapter 1: Brunei Early History

  The British Impact

  Brunei in the New Millennium

  Chapter 2: Cambodia Early History and the Empire of Angkor

  The Kingdom of Cambodia, 15th–18th Centuries

  The Colonial ERA, 1863–1940

  World War II, 1940–1945

  Toward Independence, 1945–1953

  Cambodia Under Sihanouk, 1953–1970

  War and Revolution, 1970–1975

  “Democratic Kampuchea”: Khmer Rouge Government, 1975–1979

  Cambodia a “Vietnamese Protectorate,” 1979–1991

  UNTAC, The 1993 Elections, and the Royal Government of Cambodia

  Cambodia in the 21st Century

  Chapter 3: East Timor

  Chapter 4: Indonesia Precolonial Indonesia

  Colonialism

  Nationalism

  The Japanese Occupation

  The Revolution

  Indonesia After Independence

  The End of Suharto's Rule

  Chapter 5: Lao PDR The Creation of Laos and Its Earlier History

  French Conquest and Rule to 1940

  World War II and the First Indochina War, 1940-1954

  The Failure of “Neutralisation,” 1954-1964

  Laos and the Vietnam Conflict, 1964-1975

  Laos Since 1975

  Chapter 6: Malaysia Early History

  Melaka and Malay Culture: The 15th Century

  A Threatening World: The 16th to 18th Centuries

  The British Advance: The 19th Century

  The Colonial ERA

  Japanese Occupation

  The Postwar Period

  Alliance Government and Independence

  The Creation of Malaysia

  The 1969 Crisis

  Umno and Barisan Nasional Government

  The Nep and Economic Growth

  Mahathir and the Centralisation of Power

  Chapter 7: Myanmar Precolonial History

  The Colonial Period

  Japanese Occupation

  Independence

  Chapter 8: Philippines Early History

  Spanish Rule

  Filipino Nationalism

  US Colonialism

  Japanese Occupation

  Independence and the Democratic Years

  The Marcos Era

  The Restoration of Democracy

  Chapter 9: Singapore Colonialism

  Japanese Occupation

  Toward Independence

  Chapter 10: Thailand Early History

  The Kingdom of Ayudhya, 1351-1767

  The Rise of the Bangkok Empire

  Bangkok and the West

  The Eclipse of the Monarchy, 1910-1932

  The Rise of Military Government, 1932-1948

  The “Strongman” Era, 1948-1973

  Between Autocracy and Democracy, 1973-1992

  Unresolved Issues

  Chapter 11: Vietnam Early History

  The 19th-Century Confucian Revival

  Colonial History

  Culture and Politics in Colonial Vietnam

  World War II and the First Indochina War, 1940-1954

  Vietnam Partitioned and the Vietnam War, 1954-1975

  Vietnam Since 1975

  Further Reading

  Maps

  Index

  End User License Agreement

  A SHORT HISTORY OF SOUTH-EAST ASIA

  6TH EDITION

  PETER CHURCH

  Copyright © 2017 Peter Church

  Published by John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd.

  1 Fusionopolis Walk, #07-01, Solaris South Tower, Singapore 138628

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as expressly permitted by law, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate photocopy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center. Requests for permission should be addressed to the Publisher, John Wiley & Sons Singapore Pte. Ltd., 1 Fusionopolis Walk, #07-01, Solaris South Tower, Singapore 138628, tel: 65-6643-8000, fax: 65-6643-8008, e-mail: [email protected].

  Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for any damages arising herefrom.

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  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Church, Peter (Peter C.), editor.

  Title: Short history of South-East Asia / [edited by] Peter Church.

  Description: Sixth edition. | Singapore : John Wiley & Sons Inc., [2017] | Includes index.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016053371 | ISBN 9781119062493 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781119062486 (epub) | ISBN 9781119062479 (Adobe PDF)

  Subjects: LCSH: Southeast Asia—History.

  Classification: LCC DS525 .F63 2017 | DDC 959—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016053371

  Cover Design: Wiley

  Cover Images: map © FrankRamspott/iStockphoto;

  modern buildings © AsiaTravel/Shutterstock;

  Sukhothai park © kungverylucky/Shutterstock;

  people © Rukitsara Mukdamuang/Getty Images, Inc.

  “To understand the present and anticipate the future, one must know enough of the past, enough to have a sense of the history of a people.”

  Lee Kuan Yew, then Prime Minister of Singapore, in January 1980 on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the People's Action Party

  Preface

  I had already been involved with South‐East Asia for many years when I read the late Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew's thought‐provoking words set out on the facing page. Although I was an indifferent student of history at school in Australia, the words hit me like a sledge hammer. Whilst I was well aware of the importance to business of understanding the different cultures of South‐East Asia, I had not given a lot of thought to the relevance of history to the future in general, or to business in particular.

  Since that time I have read a lot of history on the region and what I have learnt has over and over again reinforced Lee Kuan Yew's message. Unfortunately, I have found much of the history of the region has either been written by scholars abso
rbed by their topics and writing at a much greater depth than is required to get that broad understanding of history of the people or has been written in an abbreviated form for tourists or others needing only an outline of the past.

  This book is the sixth edition of A Short History of South‐East Asia, and we continue to attempt to find a middle path which will give business and other readers enough detail to have a sense of the history of the different countries and their people. The first edition of this book was published in 1995 under the title Focus in Southeast Asia. The original book was written substantially by two leading Australian historians who specialise in the ASEAN region, Professor John Ingleson and Dr Ian Black, then both at the University of New South Wales. They immediately understood what it was that we were trying to achieve and, through their skill, sensitivity, and experience, the original book was published.

  There have been significant historical developments in much of South‐East Asia since 1995 and this led us to bring the material up‐to‐date in 1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, and now again in late 2016. For this edition I turned to Janis Soo, formerly a senior editor at my publishers, John Wiley & Sons, for assistance and am extremely thankful to her for her professionalism and expertise. Any mistakes which remain are mine.

  The original project proved to be a far more difficult exercise than at first envisaged. Not only is it difficult to condense thousands of years of history to a few pages, but at all times, we wanted to test the material against the objective that a reader should by the end of each chapter have a feel for the history of the particular people.

  When the fifth edition went to press the whole world was being battered by the Global Economic Crisis. This time there is a more pressing regional issue and that is the territorial dispute that a number of South‐East Asian countries have with China over its claims to the South China Sea. Hopefully this dispute will be solved amicably as the effect could be catastrophic if it led to armed conflict.

  Adding to this mix is the result of the presidential election in the United States. What President‐elect Trump's actual policies will be to Asia, as compared with his various pronouncements during the campaign, is at this point unclear. However, it is likely he will be more isolationist and, if so, this is likely to be negative for the countries of South‐East Asia in many ways, ranging from possible increased tariffs to export goods and services to the United States through to a reluctance of the United States to play a balancing role to China's aggressive stance in the South China Sea.

  If I were going to pick one major development throughout the region since the last edition it would be the impact of the Internet and social media in all its forms on the governments of the region. We have seen the Vietnamese government prohibit discussion of politics on social media, the Thai government using its lese majeste and computer crime laws to crack down on discussion of the monarchy and dissent with the junta, and the Malaysian government blocking websites which are seen as antigovernment and charging those who it believes are using social media for the purpose of “defaming, abusing or inciting others to belittle the position of or instil hatred towards the institutions of government.” Even the Singapore government has recently passed a law with civil and criminal sanctions for any discussion, debate, or criticism of cases under review by the judiciary.

  Sadly, another issue increasingly present in the current history of South‐East Asia is the incidence of Islamic terrorism. All of the governments in the region are doing their best to counter this scourge but one senses it will still be a major problem far into the future.

  Above all, we hope you come away from reading this small book with a deeper understanding of the history of South‐East Asia which might, in a small way, better enable you to understand the present and interpret the future with respect to your South‐East Asia business and other interests.

  Peter Church OAM

  Singapore

  10 November, 2016

  Introduction

  INTRODUCTION TO THE SIXTH EDITION

  When the fifth edition of this brief and handy history was introduced in 2009, South‐East Asia, like nearly all the rest of the world, was struggling with contagious recession. The region emerged from that and has generally resumed growth. In the biggest economy, Indonesia, there is a fair chance of broad expansion and in a couple of the smaller states there is clear improvement. Political uncertainties constrain investment and growth in some places.

  But the most striking change since 2009 is the large and rapid increase in the salience of China's presence and influence. This is evident in new regional institutions, in trade, and in infrastructure funding and in an assertive claim of sovereignty over most of the South China Sea. That claim has been given physical shape by the development of reefs and islands, some newly and artificially formed, on some of which air strips or other military facilities are being installed. Despite a decision by an arbitration tribunal operating under the auspices of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea against China's claims, regional governments have been relatively careful in their criticism of China's claims. Whether the United States, which has also disputed China's claims, will continue to do so under a Trump Administration remains to be seen. President‐elect Trump's remarks during the campaign might suggest a reduction in US engagement in the region.

  Sydney, 10 November 2016

  Rawdon Dalrymple AO

  Former Australian Ambassador to Israel, Indonesia, United States, and Japan

  INTRODUCTION TO THE 2009 FIFTH EDITION

  The first sentence of my introduction to the fourth edition has been reinforced by the market since then. More than 150,000 copies of “this little book” have now been sold and here we are with a fifth edition. That it fills a need is more than ever obvious. Busy people who need a basic history of one or more of the countries of South‐East Asia have been well‐served by it.

  The region, like the rest of the world in January 2009, faces formidable difficulties. Demand for exports is drying up, as is foreign investment. Economies that have a major exposure to earnings sent home by workers who have jobs in other countries are likely to be adversely affected. For example, some eight million Filipinos work overseas and their repatriated earnings are a significant part of the country's national income. The competence of governments every‐ where will be tested. Some will manage better than others, but all will come under strain. A major question is whether regional cooperation will be more effective than in 1987–88. Their histories do not enable us to predict with certainty how South‐East Asian countries will be affected. But some knowledge of history certainly helps.

  2009

  Rawdon Dalrymple AO

  Chairman, Advisory Board of Asean Focus Group

  INTRODUCTION TO THE 2006 FOURTH EDITION

  The continuing and increasing demand for this little book reflects not only the quality of its contents and the relevance of its format but also the prominence of South‐East Asia in events which have engaged worldwide attention. Thus Islam in South‐East Asia has been much discussed and many outside the region have become aware that there are more adherents of that religion in Indonesia than in any other country in the world. Political changes and developments in Indonesia, with a new and very different president, have appeared to hold out new promise, as has the change of leadership in Malaysia. Security incidents and concern about threatening networks have prompted unprecedented cooperation between the countries of the region including Australia. Most recently the natural disaster of the tsunami wave originating off Sumatra has focused world attention on the region and brought a huge supportive international response.

  The East Asian solidarity movement, based on ASEAN, Japan, China and Korea, is still in an early stage, with difficulties between Japan and China, and reservations in ASEAN about both the giant northern neighbours, seeming likely to complicate prospects. But South‐East Asia continues to seek to shape this regional cooperation by, for example, insisting that candidates sign on to its Treaty of Amity and C
ooperation. Both Japan and the Republic of Korea found ways of doing so without prejudice to their alliance arrangements with the United States, and the government of Australia appears to be considering doing so. Economically, South‐East Asia is far from demonstrating the dynamism of China and indeed China's growth increasingly raises questions of the effects on the region. The flood of China's low‐priced products is damaging South‐East Asian exports to major existing markets, especially since the textiles regime changed. But some Chinese industries are investing in production facilities in South‐East Asia and Chinese demand for raw materials and energy resources is benefiting some parts of the region. In any case, the rise of China seems certain to be a major influence on the region in the years ahead. The countries of the region, and especially perhaps Indonesia and the Philippines, will need to address present constraints on their economic performance in order to hold their own.

  2006

  Rawdon Dalrymple AO

  Chairman, Advisory Board of Asean Focus Group

  INTRODUCTION TO THE 2003 THIRD EDITION

  The success of this book shows that it fills a need, both in Australia and beyond, and that there is continuing interest in learning about the countries of South‐East Asia. That is encouraging because there have been major changes in the region since the book was first produced. Those changes probably require qualification of the optimistic last paragraph of the introduction I wrote three years ago. I will try to say briefly why that is so.

  In the first place the global climate is more uncertain and even threatening. It is a commonplace that the early post–Cold War euphoria has dissipated. The Western alliance system is divided and possibly even endangered; the enthusiasm for international economic liberalisation has diminished; fear of terrorism has had a major effect, especially on the only superpower; and there is an historically high level of resentment and friction in the global system.