(Redirected from Indo-China)
'Indochina', or the 'Indochinese
Peninsula', is a
region in
Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of
India, south of
China.
Note that the term ''Sino-Indian'' is used to describe things relating to
India and
China. (e.g. ''Sino-Indian relations''). The term Indochina is exclusively used to denote this region.
Historically, the countries of Southeast Asia received cultural influence from
China and
India, but to varying degrees. Many Southeast Asian countries are influenced mainly by the
culture of India with a smaller influence from the
culture of China. However, this is actually reversed in the
culture of Vietnam where the main foreign influence is from the culture of
China with a much smaller influence from India, largely via the
Champa civilization that Vietnam conquered during its
southward expansion.
Indochina comprises the territory of the following countries:
in strict sense, only the former colonial
French Indochina:
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Cambodia
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Laos
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Vietnam
★ in the wider sense, better described as 'Mainland Southeast Asia', it includes furthermore:
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Peninsular Malaysia (comprising the southern end of the
Malay peninsula but none of the
Malay islands)
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Myanmar (formerly
Burma and part of
British India until
1947)
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Singapore (also considered part of
Maritime Southeast Asia if the man-made
Johor-Singapore Causeway is not taken into account)
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Thailand (formerly
Siam)
The main religion in this region is
Theravada or
Hinayana Buddhism.
Mahayana Buddhism is predominant in Vietnam and Singapore, while Malaysia is a multi-religious nation, with
Islam as the main religion, and adherents of
Buddhism,
Hinduism, and
Christianity as major minorities.
See also
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ASEAN
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East Indies
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French Indochina
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Malay Peninsula
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Maritime Southeast Asia
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Indochina War
External links
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History of the mountain people of southern Indochina up to 1945 (Bernard Bourotte, i.e. Jacques Méry, U.S. Agency for International Development, 195?