May 1

By Sayidiman Suryohadiprojo Jakarta, 1 May 2006 The significance of East Asia in international security First must be clarified what is here meant by East Asia. In this article East Asia is considered to be that part of the world which includes the following nations. In North East Asia are Japan, Russia, China, North and South Korea, Mongolia, while South East Asia includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Brunai Darussalam and the Philippines. Since the early 20th century East Asia had played a significant role in international security. Although during the First World War (1914-1918) East Asia was only slightly touched by war events, but the Japan-Russian War (1904-1905) brought important changes in international politics. Japan’s victory became a cause for the rise of nationalism in colonized nations and their struggle for liberation and independence. East Asia became an important zone of war in the Second World War (1939-1945). Japan’s early successes after it entered the read more .....