Southeast Asia: Transition among the Nagas - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 408

The situation was particularly tough during the
Vietnam War when thousands of Vietnamese and Cam-
bodians were trying to escape persecution. From 1980
to 1986 alone it is estimated that around 1,500 “boat
people” (escapees) were killed, and hundreds of
women were raped, abducted, and sold to brothels in
Thailand.
The Law of the Sea has put piratical victims beyond
the reach of international law . Piracy is only piracy when
attacks occur within jurisdictional waters of coastal
states, and most states lack the resources to police their
vast marine areas effectively . Many countries now claim
straight base lines along their coasts within which the
marine areas become coastal waters and pirates are sub-
ject to arrest.
Commercial piracy occurs in several regions. It is
most common in the Strait of Malacca and the Strait of
Singapore. Some 6,000 vessels pass through these pas-
sageways every month carrying a quarter of the world' s
trade and 80 percent of Japan' s energy supplies. Such at-
tacks irritate relations among Indonesia, Singapore, and
Malaysia. Endemic overfishing in the Gulf of Thailand
and poverty also foster piracy in that region. The Sulu
and Celebes seas, between Malaysia and the Philippines,
are frequent scenes of attacks on coastal freighters, pas-
senger ships, and fishermen. Some freighters have taken
to repelling the pirates with fire hoses.
Because modern pirates in Southeast Asia are land-
based and not rovers like the ancient Bugis, coastal states
are expected to take on the responsibility of stopping
them. Incidents of piracy have fallen since 2000 because
more ships have security systems and air and sea patrols
have increased, especially on the part of Indonesia,
Malaysia, and Singapore. Even India has joined patrolling
operations. Even so, this region still accounts for nearly
40 percent of the world' s piracy . Thus far, it seems that
maritime frontiers are very difficult to police effectively .

shape but Cambodia does not have a history of stability .
Elongated countries such as Vietnam and Laos tend to
have unity and control problems.
Prorupt states are almost compact but have at least
one extension of territory . This makes control problem-
atic, especially in the prorupted regions. Thailand and
Myanmar, with their long territorial tails, are examples of
prorupt states and both have problems with their
proruptions—especially Thailand with its minority
Muslimpopulation in the southern part of the country .
Some countries are broken up into pieces. Archipela-
goes are therefore referred to as fragmented states. Both
the Philippines and Indonesia are examples of fragmented
states. Both have trouble with unity and both have sepa-
ratist movements. However, there are exceptions. Brunei
and Malaysia are fragmented states yet do not suffer from
instability . Why do you suppose this is the case?
Country shapes provide grist for discussion but do not
determine a country' s political or economic circumstances.
Other factors such as resource distribution, physical fea-
tures, and historic events play even more important roles.

Asean

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was
formed in 1967 to promote social, economic, and political
cooperation within the region. After 1945, the newly inde-
pendent countries had little to bind them together in terms
of interstate cooperation, and since economic development
was the foremost concern, an international organization
seemed prudent. The original members were Thailand,
Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Brunei
joined after its independence in 1984, and Vietnam, Laos,
Myanmar, and Cambodia joined in the 1990s. Timor-Leste
joined after gaining independence in 2002.
ASEAN' s main goals are to promote and integrate eco-
nomic development, encourage social and cultural
progress, and guarantee regional peace and stability . Actu-
ally , member countries trade more with outside nations
than with each other, as so many of them produce the same
things. Moreover, international trade activity is dominated
by Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Intra-
ASEAN trade is also dominated by Singapore. Minerals and
fuels account for more than half the volume of exchange.
Three obstacles stand in the way of increased intra-
ASEAN trade. The economies of the members are com-
petitive rather than complementary , which supports trade
outside the organization. Second, non-tariff barriers that
are employed to protect domestic industries serve as

Shapes of Countries

Y ou have probably noticed that Southeast Asian countries
take on many different shapes, some rather odd. Country
shapes are significant in that they may affect a country' s
ability to consolidate its territory and control trans-border
interactions. The most desirable shape is circular, because
that provides the shortest possible border in relation to
territory and allows equal access to all places from the cen-
ter. Although this implies stability , stability is not necessar-
ily the case. Cambodia has a relatively circular or compact