Indochina

Indochina 1886

Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China, culturally influenced by both — hence the name (more specifically Vietnam harnessing the Chinese influence and Cambodia, Laos and Thailand the Indian influence).

Note that the term Sino-Indian is used to describe things relating to India and China. (eg.Sino-Indian relations). The term IndoChina is exlusively used to denote the region that comprises of modern-day Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Indochina comprises the territory of the following countries:

in strict sense, only the former colonial French Indochina:
* Cambodia
* Laos
* Vietnam
in the wider sense, better described as Mainland Southeast Asia, it includes furthermore:
*Peninsular Malaysia (comprising the southern end of the Malay peninsula but none of the Malay islands)
*Myanmar (formerly Burma and part of British India until 1937)
*Thailand (formerly Siam)

The main religion in this region is Theravada or Hinayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism is predominant in Vietnam, while Malaysia is a multi-religious nation, with Islam as the main religion, and Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian as major minorities.

Indochina

See also