Trade
The British built modern infrastructure, including roads, ports, and railways in this Southeast Asian country, and is one of the reasons why this country boasts a great public transport system today
What is Singapore?
The United States justifies its military presence in the Philippines under the guise of democracy and allyship, but its true interest lies in protecting this key maritime trading route
What is the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea)?
Following colonial patterns of resource extraction, Myanmar's economy today heavily depends on exports of this valuable hardwood
What is teak?
In 2017, over 700,000 of this ethnic group fled to Bangladesh, a crisis linked to colonial policies that shaped Myanmar’s demographic conflicts.
Who are the Rohingya?
These building(s) stand as testaments to French colonial occupation in Vietnam
What is the Hanoi Opera House? OR What is Basilica of HCM City?
Malaysia has frequently engaged in this diplomatic practice, acting as a mediator by traveling between conflicting ASEAN member states to facilitate dialogue
What is shuttle diplomacy?
Vietnam’s military strategy, which emphasizes self-reliance and national defense, evolved in response to colonial conflicts with this European power
What is France?
All these Southeast Asian countries in the presentation with the exception of Singapore fall under this type of economy
What is an agricultural/export-oriented economy with an asymmetrical dependence on leading world powers (the US & China)?
This racial classification of landowning elites from Spanish colonial times still maintain the same land-owning privileges and generational wealth today, and are still nationally and ethnically defined as Filipino.
Who are the Spanish-Chinese-mestizos? (Bonus 100 points for mentioning the Ayala, Cojuanco, Aquino, Marcos, Roxas families)
This colonial education system in Burma promoted Western values and created a Western-educated elite while marginalizing traditional Burmese culture, ultimately fueling nationalist movements
What is the British colonial education system?
These areas in Vietnam, established to attract foreign investment with relaxed regulations and tax incentives, have become key hubs for manufacturing as companies shift production away from China
What are Special Economic Zones?
These countries were responsible for protecting a marine from conviction after killing an indigenous woman in a transphobic attack
What is the US and the Philippines?
Despite its agricultural richness, the Philippines holds the title of the world’s largest importer of this staple crop.
What is rice?
OPEN ENDED: Did British colonial rule in Malaysia create a stronger multicultural society, or did it deepen divisions that persist today? Provide evidence from the presentation.
1. The British implemented separate schooling systems for different ethnic groups, which reinforced cultural and linguistic segregation
2. The British engaged in "divide and rule" tactics, favoring certain Malay elites while sidelining others, creating internal divisions within the Malay community itself
3. The British assigned economic roles based on race: Malays were largely confined to agriculture, Chinese populations dominated trade and mining, Indians were brought in as laborers for plantations.
The French restructured Vietnam’s government into a centralized colonial administration, leading to the widespread use of this alphabet system
What is the Latin alphabet (Quốc Ngữ)?
This country inherited debt during Dutch colonial era, around US$ 1.13 billion in 1950, and managed to balance the debt into managable ratios in 2020 and 2023, over 70 years past its independence.
What is Indonesia?
OPEN ENDED: How has the continued U.S. military presence in the Philippines shaped the country’s sovereignty and foreign policy decisions?
1.U.S. military agreements bring economic benefits (e.g., jobs and investments in base areas), but they also expose Filipinos to military violence, environmental degradation, and exploitation
2. The presence of U.S. military bases and agreements like the Mutual Defense Treaty (1951) and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (2014) has restricted the Philippines' ability to fully control its own military affairs
3. Cases like the Jennifer Laude murder by U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton highlight how U.S. forces often receive special legal treatment, undermining Philippine judicial authority
This industry accounted for 12.4 Percent of Indonesia's GDP in 2022, highlighting Indonesia's agricultural export-oriented economy
What is the Plantation Industry?
This policy, introduced in 1971, aimed to address economic inequalities in Malaysia by favoring ethnic Malays and indigenous groups in university admissions, government contracts, and business ownership.
What is the New Economic Policy (NEP)?
This tax forces overseas Filipino workers to surrender a portion of their earnings when sending money back home, allowing the government to profit from exported labor.
What is the tax on overseas remittances?
OPEN ENDED: In what ways did British control over Myanmar’s natural resources and strategic ethnic divisions shape its current economic and ethnic struggles?
The British extensively logged Myanmar’s teak forests, which not only depleted a valuable resource but also disrupted traditional industries and local ecosystems.
British preferred the Karen ethnic minority in Burma, giving them rifles, and utilized those Christianized labor forces for teak logging, farming, etc., creating resentment against them by the Buddhist Bamar, and creating lasting ethnic divisions between the two ethnic groups.
Today, many ethnic minority areas remain underdeveloped, lacking access to education, infrastructure, and investment compared to Bamar-dominated regions like Yangon and Mandalay.
Colonial-era military structures in Myanmar empowered this group, which today justifies its violent crackdowns on ethnic minorities
What is the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military)?
OPEN ENDED: In what ways did British control over Myanmar’s natural resources and forced labor systems shape its current economic struggles?
1. Under British rule, Myanmar was transformed into a major exporter of rice, teak, oil, and minerals, primarily benefiting British industries rather than the local economy
2. The focus on export-oriented agriculture
3. The British used forced labor policies, such as the "Corvée" system, where Burmese villagers were compelled to work on colonial infrastructure projects like roads, railways, and ports
4. After independence, Myanmar's economy remained highly centralized, with the military (Tatmadaw) taking control of key industries and natural resources, a pattern rooted in colonial-era resource control
This minority ethnic group in Burma supported Britain during colonial rule, and now the Bamar ethnic majority is oppressing this group as a response to years of colonial ethnic preference
Who are the Karen?
This British strategy of favoring ethnic minorities like the Karen in the military and administration while marginalizing the Bamar majority created long-term ethnic tensions, fueling post-independence conflicts and economic disparities in Myanmar.
What is "Divide & Rule?"