COMMUNICATION AND CULTURE IN SOUTH

EAST ASIA

WEEK 10 – CONFLICT & INDEPENDENCE STRUGGLES.

  Long under colonial domination, many Southeast Asian nations achieved independence in the postwar years.
 The transition, however, has not always a smooth one.
 As a result of that colonial rule, long-term issues have tended to follow.

COLONIALISM
 Before World War II, Southeast Asia controlled by major colonial powers
 Burma, Malaya controlled by British; Philippines by United States; Indonesia was Dutch colony
 Modern day countries of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia part of French colony, French Indochina

END OF COLONIAL PRESENCE

• During war, Japanese occupied these Southeast Asian colonies
• Occupation helped weaken grip of European, American powers
• Some nations decided to end colonial presence in region at end of war
• U.S. granted independence to Philippines; British gave up Burma

STRUGGLES
 Communist rebels in Malaya fought the British before achieving independence
 Group known as Vietminh fought French troops to win Vietnamese independence
 Vietminh leader, Communist Ho Chi Minh
 Received assistance from China, Soviet Union
 Major goal was independence, not expansion of communism
 After years of fighting, Vietminh defeated France; French control of Indochina ended

CRITICAL POINT IN HISTORY

 The end of World War II was a milestone event in terms of independence.
 In many areas, Japanese occupation during World War II helped weaken the grip of the European and
American powers in the region.
 Then once japan lost the War, this assisted greatly in the independence that followed.
 In others, independence came with struggle.

 Probably the most renowned and remembered regional conflict is that of the Vietnam War.
VIETNAM WAR
 Fighting with France was over, but conflict was not.
 Ho Chi Minh’s dream of a united, independent Vietnam would be achieved only after years of war.
 Is peaceful independence possible?
 1954, representatives from France, Vietnam, U.S., Soviet Union, other nations met to establish peace
agreement for Vietnam
 Talks reflected Cold War tensions
 Worried about spread of communism, Western powers did not want Ho Chi Minh and the Communists, to
have complete control of Vietnam

DOMINO THEORY
• Vietnam temporarily divided into northern, southern halves
• Communists would control north
• Voters to choose government for reunited Vietnam in 1956
• President Eisenhower warned if Vietnam fell to communism, other Southeast Asian nations would quickly
follow
• Belief that communism would spread, the so called domino theory

FIGHTING BEGINS
 U.S. supported South Vietnam
• U.S. supported South Vietnam to keep from being taken over by North
• South Vietnam leader Ngo Dinh Diem prevented 1956 election
• Also made enemies with corrupt, brutal rule

VIETCONG
• Diem’s enemies formed Vietcong, “Vietnamese Communist”—not all Vietcong Communists; all shared goal
of overthrowing Diem, reuniting Vietnam
• Soon North Vietnamese entered South Vietnam, fought alongside Vietcong

FIGHTING ESCALATES
• As Vietcong influence spread, U.S. increased aid to South Vietnam
• Also sent thousands of military advisors to help South Vietnamese forces
• August 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson informed Congress two U.S. Navy ships subject of unprovoked
attack by North Vietnamese gunboats
GULF OF TONKIN RESOLUTION
• True, one U.S. ship fired on by North Vietnamese; second attack seems to have been misunderstanding
• Johnson did not mention full facts, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
• This gave Johnson the power to expand U.S. involvement without formal declaration of war

AMERICAN PRESENCE
• American military presence in Vietnam grew quickly, hundreds of thousands of combat troops sent to region
• Increased U.S. involvement forced North Vietnam, Vietcong to change military strategy
• Rather than press for quick victory, focused on outlasting enemies

TET: A TURNING POINT

• 1968, North Vietnamese army, Vietcong carried out daring strike against cities, other targets across South
Vietnam
• Attack began on Vietnamese New Year, called Tet—came to be known as Tet Offensive
• Offensive military setback for Vietcong; still delivered heavy political blow to U.S., South Vietnamese effort

WEEKENED SUPPORT
• American leaders had claimed victory in Vietnam close at hand
• Tet Offensive dramatically showed this was not case
• Attacks greatly weakened American public support for war

OPPOSITION GREW
• After Tet Offensive, war expanded into Laos, Cambodia
• North Vietnamese had supply network—Ho Chi Minh Trail
• U.S. efforts to destroy trail failed
• More Americans opposed war

VIETNAM WAR ENDS

• 1973, after long negotiations, U.S. reached peace agreement with North Vietnam, withdrew military support;
without support, South lost ground
• 1975, North Vietnamese tanks rolled into Saigon, ending war

AFTER THE WAR

• 1976, Vietnam reunited officially, but faced major problems
• Millions dead or made homeless; Vietnamese economy severely crippled
• 1980s, abandoned Soviet-style planned economy, made economic reforms
COMMUNISM
• 1995, U.S. formally recognized united Vietnam
• Two nations agreed to improve trade relationship
• Many economic reforms; political reforms slow for Communist nation

POLITICAL IDEOLOGY
 United States feared Communists would take control of South Vietnam;
 The war began and U.S. involvement increased;
 American public opposition to the war grew;
 United States removed troops;
 North Vietnamese took control of South Vietnam.

CHEANGES IN SOUTH EAST ASIA

 Some of the political and social forces that tore apart Vietnam were also at work elsewhere in the region.
 After World War II, other nations in Southeast Asia struggled to build stable independent nations.

INDONESIA
• Over 13,000 islands spread across Indian, Pacific oceans
• Had been Dutch colony known as Dutch East Indies before being taken over by Japan during World War II
• Dutch tried to regain control after war
• Dutch faced independence movement led by Sukarno
• 1949, Indonesia finally won independence
• Sukarno became first Indonesian president
• Tried to stay out of the Cold War; eventually allied with Soviet Union, supported growth of Indonesia’s
Communist party
• Sukarno almost bankrupted nation
• In 1965 a group of army officers and Communists tried to seize power in a coup d’état.
• The head of the army, General Suharto, fought back.
• In the struggle for power that followed the attempted coup, hundreds of thousands of Communists and alleged
Communists were murdered.
• Suharto took control of country when struggle ended
• Ruled Indonesia for many years
• Authoritarian regime corrupt, but Indonesian economy revived
• 1980s, some Indonesians turned against Suharto, resented corruption, use of power
• 1997, economy collapsed; protests, riots broke out and he stepped down the following year.
 • In subsequent years, a series of democratic governments worked to rebuild the nation’s economy.
• Today Indonesia has fourth-largest population in world and home to over 300 ethnic groups.
• On island of Sulawesi, thousands died in fighting between Christians, Muslims
• In the 2000s, Muslim radicals linked to terrorist attacks in Indonesia

EAST TIMOR
• 1975, Indonesia seized control of East Timor, former Portuguese colony
• East Timorese fought against Indonesian invasion for nearly three decades
• Over 100,000 people died; 2002, finally won independence

MYANMAR (NOT CURRENTLY)

• 1948, Burma, now known as Myanmar, won independence from Great Britain
• Faced many difficulties: weak central government, severe ethnic tensions
• 1960s, military dictatorship seized power; still controls Myanmar today
• 1991, opponent of government, Aung San Suu Kyi won Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to promote
democracy in Myanmar
• Government has held her in prison, or under house arrest, for much of time since late 1980s

CAMBODIA
• Cambodia endured years of struggle after winning independence from France in 1953
• In 1975 Communist Khmer Rouge gained control of country
• Khmer Rouge established Communist government led by Pol Pot
• Renamed the country Kampuchea and began radical program to rebuild Cambodian society
• Goal: country of simple peasants
• To achieve goal, all influences of urban life, modern civilization had to be destroyed
• All opposition destroyed
• Anyone educated killed
• 1.5 million died
• Conflict between Khmer Rouge, Vietnam turned into war
• 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia, forced Pol Pot from power
• Pol Pot led Khmer Rouge guerrillas in civil war throughout 1980s
• Now rebuilding
ARE THESE NATIONS BETTER OFF TODAY?
• So how have many of these nations changed?
• Many of its nations have gained independence from colonial rule, but have struggled to build stable,
independent governments.
• Of course does independence bring true independence?
• What is neo-colonialism?

SOUTH EAST ASIA HAS EARNED AN IMPORTANT STATUS IN TERMS OF CONFLICT

 It’s a region which has witnessed five full-scale inter-state conflicts and adversaries are nuclear-armed
 Some of Asia's major powers, have earned the distinction of becoming a part of the hub of global terrorism
 Just as alarming, most of the countries have at some time had insurgency and separatist movements.

CONFLICT TYPES
 Conflicts in South Asia can be broadly put in 4 categories.
1. Those imposed and escalated by the global political, strategic and developmental dynamics, including the role
of great powers;
2. Those inherited and strategically induced in inter-state engagements;
3. Those precipitated and nurtured by the internal political turbulence, socio-cultural fault-lines and
developmental distortions;
4. Those that are caused and covered by the non-state actors.
 The first category includes conflicts inflicted by the forces and factors from outside the region.