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Kung walang alipin, at may kalayaan!
("When there are no slaves, and when we have freedom!")

"Ang Bayan Ko" (nationalist protest song, Philippines), stanza,
from poem by José Paciano Rizal (1861-1896).

Political map, Southeast Asia.
Source: IRASEC
l'Institut de Recherche sur l'Asie du Sud-Est Contemporaine
Bangkok, Thailand.

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• Most countries of Southeast Asia are internally divided by mountains or seas — and sometimes by both. And most of them are also divided from one another by mountains and seas. Despite their linguistic, cultural and political diversity, most of these countries fought wars of national liberation or independence during the past one hundred years or so.

• Since the 1890s, the political-geographical boundaries of South East Asia have ebbed and flowed with the tides of modern and contemporary social and international history. ¹ That fact is etymologically consistent with the Latin origins of the word region. Derived from regio, it means "an area under one ruler."

¹ For a summary of competing imperial perspectives, nationalist forces and Cold War conflicts shaping Southeast Asia's fluid boundaries, see Donald K. Emmerson, "'Southeast Asia': What's in a Name?" Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, vol. 15, no. 1 (1984), pp. 1-21.

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• Early in your research project, investigate Southeast Asia resources in Hamilton Library.

• Consider the regularly updated New Mandala from The Australian National University. New Mandala shares "new perspectives on mainland Southeast Asia."

• Search SEASIA-L's Southeast Asia discussion archives from June 1998 to the present.

• Development, environment and security are treated in The South China Sea WWW Virtual Library.

• "The Mekong Network Project provides information on Southeast Asia, and also includes a selection of articles on other, unrelated topics. The Southeast Asia pages focus primarily on Cambodia and Burma [and, to a lesser degree, on Laos, Vietnam, China and Thailand -- v.k.p.]. Other areas of the site include articles and essays on a wide range of topics."

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• Following the Revolution of 23 August 1896 in the Philippines, the Malolos Constitution (1898-1899) was the fourth and most elaborate of four constitutions written for the First Philippine Republic. This was Asia's first constitutional republic.

• Following the Asia-Pacific phase of the Spanish-American War and then conquered by the United States in the Philippine-American War, the Philippines became America's first Asian colony. Novelist Samuel Clemens (literary name: "Mark Twain"), former President Grover Cleveland and others criticized the U.S. invasion of the Philippines. In 1898, they formed the Anti-Imperialist League. Some of them openly collaborated with revolutionary Filipino leaders during the Philippine-American War.

• Casualty figures totaled by historian Luzviminda B. Francisco from U.S. commanders' reports on combat in all provinces in all months when fighting occurred during the Philippine-American War let her infer that 600,000 Filipino combatants and civilians died. These deaths occurred — directly or indirectly — as a result of fighting during February 1899 - July 1902. See Francisco's classic study The Philippines: An End of an Illusion/Pambungad sa Kasaysayan ng Pilipinas, AREAS series (vol. 2, no. 2) (London: Association for Radical East Asian Studies, 1973).

• More Filipinos died during the continuing military struggle for independence, especially in southern Mindanao. To Francisco's total, one must add the number of Filipinos killed resisting the U.S. during the next twelve years.

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• For reporting on current events in English and Filipino, try Philippine Political Update.

• Walk through the Philippine Studies portal.

• Or select from 40 Filipino and Filipino-American newspapers and magazines at Philippine News-Link.

• In contrast to some of these sources, the Independent Media Center - Philippines provides alternative information and analysis.

• Consult the Center for People Empowerment in Governance for high-quality archived CenPEG Issue Analysis papers discussing urgent problems and developments in the Philippines — and proposing solutions.

• Bulatlat (Alipato Media Center Inc.) provides insight and commentary. In Filipino, bulatlat is the root of the verb bulatlatin meaning "to examine in detail, to investigate."

• Stop the Killings in the Philippines draws attention to human rights violations, including extrajudicial kidnapping, torture and execution of journalists and political activists during the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

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Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh Province, northern Viet Nam. Source: Google Images, 2006 [?].

• The VietGate portal opens up to 100,000 Viet Nam-related websites.

• Richard Jensen's annotated bibliography on the Vietnam Wars of 1945-1975 lists websites, books and articles.

• Or work your way through a substantial bibliography assembled by Edwin E. Moïse.

• Photos of Viet Nam have been made available by the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa's Center for Southeast Asian studies.

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• Students of Indonesia's history and politics may search five e-mail lists and three databases on Indonesia Publications.

• USINDO publications are a product of the United States-Indonesia Society.

• Try the Online University's site on Indonesia, Southeast Asia, the Islamic World, and American Society.

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• Challenging the legitimacy of the military rulers, opponents continue to call their country "Burma." Check out BurmaNet News and the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma for information and analysis not censored by the Government.

• The Chin Human Rights Organization documents "racial discrimination, forced labour, rape, and religious persecution" committed against "the Chin as well as many other peoples in Burma."

• Donald M. Seekins' Burma Briefing analyzes causes and prospects of the social protest movements of August-October 2007 in Burma.

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• The Geopolitics and Economics of Burma's Military Regime, 1962-2007. Understanding SPDC [State Peace and Development Counci] Tyranny is a follow-up report by Professor Seekins.

• According to Burma Review editor Dr. Rajshekhar of Jawaharlal Nehru University, this "academic blog journal" is "taking Burma to the World."

• The Democratic Voice of Burma is published in Burmese and English, as well as in Arakan, Kachin, Karen, Karenni and Shan.

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• View video clips of Burma and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste ("East Timor").

• After enduring twenty-four years of occupation by Indonesia (1975-1999), East Timor entered into a subsequent interim period under the aegis of the United Nations. Since 2002, East Timor's formal status has been one of constitutional independence.

• In the western part of the island of Timor, the East Timorese enclave of Oecussi-Ambeno is separated from the rest of East Timor — by Indonesia on the east and by the Savu Sea on the north.

• The rest of East Timor also remains divided and politically vulnerable. Reconciliation between formerly warring factions of East Timorese society will likely be a protracted and challenging process. See the "Final Report" of the Commission for Reception, Truth and Reconciliation in East Timor (last modified, 2 August 2004).

• Examine UN Transitional Administration in East Timor documents produced during 1999-2005.

• For independent reporting on reconstruction, women's issues, oil and missing people, consult Back Door E-News on East Timor. The latter source remains valuable, although many months may pass without updates.

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• In the Federation of Malaysia, Malaysiakini publishes "news and views that matter" in Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and English. Reading the headlines and initial paragraphs of Malaysiakini news reports is free, as are many of the letters and comments. To read the full text of articles, one must subscribe.

• Aliran Monthly is a journal published by Aliran Kesedaran Negara ("National Consciousness Movement"). This multi-ethnic reform organization began in 1977. Aliran's purpose is "to conscientise the public."

• The Center for Orang Asli Concerns in Subang Jaya, Malaysia, reports and comments "on the Orang Asli, the indigenous minority peoples of Peninsular Malaysia."

• "Peninsular Malaysia" or "Western Malaysia" includes all of Malaysia other than Sabah and Sarawak — the two "Eastern" or "insular" states of Malaysia. They are located on Borneo, the third-largest island in the world. Borneo also includes the Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam and four provinces of Indonesia.

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Last modified, 5 July 2008.

© 1999-2008, Vincent K. Pollard.

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