The forgotten geopolitics of Southeast Asia

 The region has long been shaped by maritime power rivalry and diplomacy, not just modern geopolitics.

From P Ramasamy

Veteran journalist A Kathirasen wrote a two-part series on the ancient South Asian kingdom of the Cholas.

He focused on the relationship between the Cholas and the Srivijaya Kingdom, based in Sumatra.

The essential thrust of the two pieces is to illustrate a hidden history of diplomatic relations between empires long before the rise of modern states and to highlight the current strategic importance of the Straits of Melaka following concerns over the possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

The author seeks to explore the history of the Straits of Melaka long before the emergence of colonialism and the creation of independent nation-states in Southeast Asia.

In this context, he cites the recent return of historic copper plates from the Chola era by the Netherlands to the government of India.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi was present in the Netherlands to witness the handover of the copper plates.

The transfer might be recent, but a closer examination reveals that Southeast Asia was once a dynamic zone of rivalry involving the Cholas, the Srivijayan Empire and China’s Song Dynasty.

The copper plates date to the 11th century.

However, the history and archaeological excavations of the Malay Peninsula go back much further, to the Neolithic period some 6,000 years ago.

In early 2023, I headed a Penang state delegation to retrieve more than 40 Neolithic artefacts discovered in present-day northern Penang, near the Kedah border.

I was in charge of the archaeological project at Gua Kepar, although I am not an archaeologist.

The excavations uncovered the skeletal remains of a woman who, according to carbon dating, died about 5,700 years ago. The Penang state government later declared her the “First Penang Woman”.

The Dutch museum authorities agreed to repatriate the ancient artefacts to the Penang state government, and I understand that this was completed earlier this year.

I conducted research on the Chola voyages during my tenure as a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS), Singapore, from 2006 to 2008.

After I left ISEAS in 2008, the institute published a book on the Chola voyages in Southeast Asia.

Earlier, I had organised an international conference on the Cholas, bringing together several leading experts from around the world.

The two-day conference concluded that the Chola naval incursion into Southeast Asia was primarily maritime in nature and intended to teach the Srivijaya Kingdom a powerful lesson.

The maritime rivalry arose because the Srivijaya Kingdom was not only hostile to the Cholas but also granted preferential trading terms to Chinese merchants and vessels.

The Cholas attacked and destroyed several Srivijayan outposts along the Straits of Melaka.

The Srivijayan king was captured, imprisoned and later released.

It is possible that amicable relations developed between the Cholas and the Srivijaya Kingdom after the latter’s defeat.

Kathirasen’s point about cordial relations between the two kingdoms likely reflects this post-conflict period.

Maritime rivalry leading to conflict was the defining feature of the relationship between the Cholas and the Srivijaya Kingdom.

The Cholas were never an imperialistic power in the colonial sense, as they had no intention of capturing and permanently occupying territories. Their presence in Southeast Asia lasted for a limited period of about 66 years.

Kathirasen highlights an important dimension of Southeast Asian history often ignored by those focused mainly on contemporary geopolitics.

Long before the contemporary strategic significance of the Strait of Hormuz and the Straits of Melaka, Southeast Asia was already a theatre of great-power competition, conflict and diplomacy.

The involvement of major powers in the region’s affairs is, therefore, not a recent phenomenon and cannot be dismissed as merely a feature of the modern age. - FMT

P Ramasamy is the chairman of Urimai and a former Penang deputy chief minister.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.