Southeast Asian Countries

Nations like Bangladesh have emerged as major exporters of textile products and have benefited from lower prices of cotton. However, while many energy-hungry nations such as India have efficiently used the recent low cost of oil to stockpile huge inventories of oil for future use, rising energy prices present long-term downside risks. The primary South Asian countries include India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as smaller nations including Nepal, Bhutan, and the Maldives. Since most of the inhabitants (85%) live in the European part of the country, Russia is listed in our overview of Europe.

Northern Illinois University Center For Southeast Asian Studies College Of Liberal Arts And Sciences

Forestry, the management of trees and other vegetation in forests, is an important but threatened industry in a select group of Asian countries. China, Indonesia, and Malaysia make up more than half of the forested lands in Asia. China is a major exporter of wood products, ranking first globally in wood-based panel production, paper, and wood furniture. These tropical woods, such as teak, are primarily used in high-quality furniture and flooring. The “ASEAN Vision 2020” adopted in Kuala Lumpur on 15 December, by the Heads of State/Government of ASEAN, envisioned a “Concert of Southeast Asian Nations” to be in 2020 a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality, as envisaged in the Kuala Lumpur Declaration of 1971.

The constitution recognizes 22 “scheduled languages”, which were given recognition, status and official encouragement. In addition, Tamil, Sanskrit, Telegu, Kannada, Malayalam and Oriya were awarded the distinction of classical language. Other major languages in India include Bengali, Marathi, Urdu, Gujarati, Punjabi and Assamese. Located in South Asia, Bangladesh is bordered by India to its west, north and east, Burma to its southeast and to its south, it faces the Bay of Bengal. Along with the neighboring Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, it forms part of the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal.

The massive project, however, has had a devastating effect on the human and natural environment. The damming of the Yangtze River created a reservoir that flooded 632 square kilometers , taking out hundreds of towns and villages and displacing more than 1.2 million people. It submerged hundreds of factories, mines, and waste dumps, allowing industrial pollutants and garbage to enter the reservoir. The reservoir has also threatened the habitats of birds, fish, and other wildlife populations. Asia has a number of state-of-the-art engineering marvels that solve complex infrastructural problems.

South Asia: Less Vulnerable To Global Financial Turmoil

The focus of the meeting was on Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development. The potential increase in the use of nuclear energy was discussed in this regard. The members drafted an ASEAN Leaders’ Declaration on Environmental Sustainability to be signed at the 13th ASEAN Summit. In the days prior to the meeting, Ministers discussed the creation of an agency to monitor compliance with the SEANWFZ. The ministers also discussed their intentions to strengthen the regions relationship with the IAEA and capacity to implement safeguards. On 24 July, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution began roughly at the turn of the twenty- first century . Automation and connectivity are the two main characteristics of this revolution that are being advanced by many disruptive technological innovations, such as artificial intelligence , big data, internet of things , robotics, and many more. The United States and Europe have been at the forefront of the Industrial Revolutions over the last two and a half centuries. Almost all Asian countries, except Japan, were latecomers to these revolutions. Nevertheless, many of them, including China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, made significant progress by the end of the Third Industrial Revolution. An emirate is a political territory that is ruled by a Muslim monarch called an emir.

Countries & Regions

Due to tectonic shifts of the various Pacific plates, strong earthquakes repeatedly occur in these regions, which in turn trigger volcanoes and tsunamis. As the importance of the region increases in the globalizing world, both generalist and specialist knowledge about Southeast Asia become critical to the world and the region itself. In that sense, Southeast Asian studies as a knowledge construct transforms itself into a lived reality, especially for the Southeast Asians themselves.

Southeast Asian Studies: Society

Much like HITEC City, Hyderabad’s Genome Valley is a large campus of facilities that houses more than 100 biotech companies, including Novartis, Monsanto, and Pfizer. The city has also developed campuses for the study of nanotechnology and the manufacturing of advanced semiconductors and solar technologies. This aggressive investment in high-tech industries will most likely continue to bring revenue and jobs into the city. As a result, Hyderabad must deal with a swelling population in need of more goods and services well into the future. Extractive activities are an important part of the economies of many Asian countries.

On March, the 9th ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting was held in Langkawi, Malaysia. On 16 March, the 10 defense ministers signed a joint declaration with a focus on regional security cooperation, especially against terrorist threats posed by groups like the Islamic State . ASEAN was established in August 1967 with the purpose of accelerating the economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region, and promoting regional peace and stability. Although raking in the lowest growth rates in 2019, Pakistan continues to benefit from increased investments from China, and the return of Iran to international markets is expected to boost mutual trade. Additionally, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor , a 3,000-kilometer network of roads, railways, and oil and gas pipelines from Pakistan to China, is expected to bolster the Pakistani economy through to 2030.

The northeastward movement of the subcontinent continues at about 2.4 inches per year. The impact and pressure continue to raise the Plateau of Tibet and the Himalayas. Asia is bounded by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Indian Ocean to the south, the Red Sea (as well as the inland seas of the Atlantic Ocean—the Mediterranean and the Black) to the southwest, and Europe to the west. Asia is separated from North America to the northeast by the Bering Strait and from Australia to the southeast by the seas and straits connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans.

It stresses that to be effective and operational, nuclear weapon states must accede to the Protocol to the Treaty and urges them to do so as soon as possible. Furthermore, it notes that ASEAN has been holding consultations with the five nuclear weapon states toward this end, but that only China has, thus far, reached an agreement with ASEAN regarding the protocol. At the 10th ASEAN-Republic of Korea Summit held the same week, the chairman addressed the situation with the DPRK, calling for full implementation of UNSC resolutions 1695 and 1718.