Southeast Asia

**Indonesia** is a sprawling Dutch colony that has been fighting a war for its independence since the late 1940s. The war has had various flareups and quiet periods but has never completely resolved itself. The Dutch have tried to play different ethnic groups against one another with uneven results, sometimes this has worked but sometimes it has just led to cross-ethnic conflict in addition to anti-imperial conflict. Since Germany sees Indonesia is a crucial strategic asset the war is becoming increasingly Germanised with more and more German forces, particularly the Luftwaffe, based in Indonesia.

**Malaysia** is a British colony that is similarly fighting an independence war. The Malaysian and Indonesian rebels are closely aligned with one another and they sometimes suggest combining post-independence although this is very far off. Singapore is generally under firm control and is a major US-UK military base, but British Borneo and northern Malaysia are dangerous territory for British or pro-British troops.

**Philippines** belongs to the USA although it is given a high degree of self-governance - the USA has control over foreign policy and high level defense policy, but otherwise it is self-governing. The Filipino armed forces are theoretically independent although most high-ranking officers are American officers on secondment. There was an anti-American revolt in the early 1950s, sponsored by Japan, but it petered out largely due to lack of popular support. The Philippines is the most secure of all the foreign colonies in Southeast Asia, although a few remnants of nationalist forces remain in isolated areas, and crime is a serious issue. The current Filipino political class is strongly Americanised and advocates for continued self-government with the hope of eventual independence as a US ally. In addition to the "independent" Filipino forces, there are very significant American forces based in the islands.

**Vietnam, Cambodia** and **Laos** form French Indochina. The French are also struggling against an anti-colonial uprising here, although the area is considered less crucial than Indonesia by Germany and thus the French do not enjoy so much direct support. Matters are further complicated by the national Chinese government´s strong support for the Vietnamese rebels despite nationalist China itself enjoying German support. The USA also strongly supports the independence movements, and their leader, "Uncle" Ho Chi Minh, visited Washington several times and was an advocate for American-style federal democracy. The Japanese are also official advocates of Indochinese independence and enjoy warm relations with the nationalist forces. Much of the nationalist leadership, including Uncle Ho before his death in early 1969, is based in Guangdong.

**Thailand** is independent and exists as a "neutral zone" between the German/American/Japanese spheres of influence. Thailand´s government´s inclination is to be pro-Japanese and to support the various nationalist uprisings in French Indochina, Malaysia and Burma, but it fears reprisals and thus limits itself to very indirect, low level support. Bangkok plays the same role as San Jose in the Americas or Switzerland in Europe, as a neutral location where a lot of intrigue and behind-the-scenes diplomacy takes place. Thailand is ruled by its traditional monarchs but is effectively a military dictatorship, and has quite a strong military that is mostly equipped with Japanese weapons.