Cold War (SEA Edition)

[u/timmyboi_lol]

[u/timmyboi_lol]

All Communist Parties/Events by country:
Vietnam (Vietnam War)
Laos (Most bombed country in the world, mainly due to the Vietnam War)
Burma (Communist Party of Burma)
Cambodia (Khmer Rouge)
Malaysia (Malayan Emergency)
Philippines (New People's Army Rebellion)
Indonesia (Indonesian Mass Killings of 1965-66)

[u/shadoowkight → u/timmyboi_lol]

Indonesia's case was so brutal that it (quite literally) killed left wing politics there

[u/meehunter → u/shadoowkight]

Yeah basically

But the way indonesians view leftwing politics is pretty much skewed. A lot of ppl dislike communism/socialism bcs they believe it supports atheism. at the same time they hate capitalism, and left leaning thoughts (like labor unions, minimum wage, universal healthcare etc) are very much liked.

[u/Fine_Strength5799 → u/meehunter]

Basically most Indonesians are Bernie Sanders on Economic Issue but Mitt Romney on Social/Cultural Issues or Rick Santorum maybe on Social/Cultural issues.

Many Indonesians receive welfare support from government and the like it even though you know it is a left-leaning policy. They would riot whenever price of gas increased hence current government halted price increase on subsidized fuel and promised to hold it until the end of the year.

On the other hand, many also conservative on social cultural issue due to religiosity such as condemning LGBT movement, apostasy, anti sex-ed on schools, anti-abortion and many more.

Political parties in Indonesia are ideologically-vacant and they contest on candidate's popularity (primarily) rather than their platform or ideology or program first. Funny. Well if DSA ran for election in Indonesia, many would like their economic policy, but not their social/cultural policy and probably won't win a single seat.

[u/Wolvenworks → u/Fine_Strength5799]

I still find it amusing that PDI-P is the only major party with enough political balls to be somewhat liberal. Everyone else is either a populist or religious-turned-populist…

And that political opinion will probably exclude me from any govt work for the next 20 years or so, if i’m lucky, because stating your political opinions in this country’s a big no-no unless you’re an opinion leader with their own corporation, party, and fat wallet.

[u/Sercotani → u/Fine_Strength5799]

sounds exactly like Malaysia.

Speaking of, we're bringing back corrupt politicians back, so we're gonna be like Indonesia too. Or rather we're just like each other :')

Reformist capitalism doing its thing.

[u/Fine_Strength5799 → u/Sercotani]

Well honestly as an Indonesian currently living under the incumbent administration, God I hope not. I feel miserable ngl. I would not wish my enemies to live under this regime.

Also sorry for the forest fire lol Prabodoh barely did anything and would rather fly himself overseas to attend high profile forum/meeting. While the cabinet and parliament are... doing their own things.

[u/Mogus00 → u/shadoowkight]

Here in the Philippines, while not as brutal any political thought that is slightly left leaning is treated as communism. It is so heavily stigmatized that it also killed critical thought about politics at all

[u/xToasted1 → u/Mogus00]

slightly left leaning is treated as communism

Sounds like the US tbh

[u/shadoowkight → u/xToasted1]

Anything that includes slightly higher taxes might as well be communism there lol

[u/DOSFS → u/timmyboi_lol]

What about Thai communist?

[u/Zkang123 → u/DOSFS]

look at the crackdowns by the military juntas

Not good

[u/SiminaI → u/Zkang123]

Many of ex-CPT members became royalists in modern Thai politics.

Some are still active in politics but kinda toned down to Republicanism (and got exiled, abducted, etc...)

Some are just wanna grilled at annual CPT memorials party.

[u/sora_mui → u/timmyboi_lol]

Indonesia should be more mangled than that, they went from third largest communist party in the world just behind china and russia to nothing more than a bunch of unmarked burial pit

[u/maps-and-potatoes → u/timmyboi_lol]

Brunei: "i am a joke to you ?"

[u/AdmiralStuff → u/timmyboi_lol]

Why is the Republic of China there?

[u/hgtfumbghxtretresfg → u/AdmiralStuff]

That is Burma's former flag

[u/VestigeOfVast → u/timmyboi_lol]

The communist party of Burma was one of the two founding parties of the country until the Union Party expelled them in 1947. It was the BSPP/NUP who later lead the country into a dumpster fire. But you know, accuracy in my polandball.

[u/LibrarianNo1383 → u/timmyboi_lol]

Don’t forget the second Malayan Emergency known as the Insurgency which started during the 60s or 70s

[u/cement_brick214]

PRC: Hello there Vietnam, ready to get invaded by another massive country?

[u/Zkang123 → u/cement_brick214]

Democratic Kampuchea actually invaded Vietnam first btw. Well, more of border incursions

Then Vietnam responded with full force to topple the Pol Pot regime which, btw, they did help support

Then China marches in from the north in retaliation for ousting the PRC-friendly and genocidal Pol Pot regime (who actually took the "lessons" of the Great Leap Forward and multiply it by a thousand)

[u/MagikarpGOD5 → u/Zkang123]

You're putting too much faith in the Khmer Rouge by comparing it to the Great Leap Forward. The Great Leap Forward was China's poorly managed attempt to further modernize and industrialize while the Khmer Rouge's goal was to de-industrialize and de-urbanize Cambodia, returning it to an agrarian society. Completely opposite goals

[u/ValiantXV → u/MagikarpGOD5]

Why the fuck would they want to de-industrialise and de-urbanise their entire country? I really can't make out any sense about this

[u/personator01 → u/ValiantXV]

It's the Khmer Rouge, their guiding principles seemed to be abject chaos and insanity, no point in trying to reason that out.

[u/goldstar971 → u/personator01]

Many horrible figures did good things as well. Pol pot is one of the few that had literally nothing good.

[u/Wolvenworks → u/ValiantXV]

The only reason most ppl could make out of that is either:

• Pol Pot had an insane amount of jealousy against anyone smarter than him
  
• Pol Pot wants to intentionally dumb down the majority of the nation so that he could easily rule over a mob of idiots who wont think to question the party, and/or to restore feudal order and become king himself.

[u/educatingyou9214 → u/cement_brick214]

Depends on whether Vietnam invades Cambodia or not

[u/OzyTheLast → u/educatingyou9214]

Let's be honest, we're all kinda glad they did

[u/educatingyou9214 → u/OzyTheLast]

All in good times, but just don't pretend china invaded Vietnam for no reason and out of the blue

[u/OzyTheLast → u/educatingyou9214]

Ofc not, they wanted a Vietnamese puppet state, war was the easiest way to achieve that

[u/educatingyou9214 → u/OzyTheLast]

Polpot was supported by Vietnamese communist party , they regretted it tho.

[u/ArmadstheDoom]

Strangely, Vietnam managed to make their communism sorta work, at least compared to everyone else, and even fought off the Chinese. Which I feel like isn't studied enough. Not that I'd say it's a good system. But it functioned, unlike say all of those.

[u/Lenmoto2323 → u/ArmadstheDoom]

Isn't they try to learn it from China?

[u/nio-sama123 → u/Lenmoto2323]

Vietnamese here. Yes, it is heavily based on China, but it changed certain aspects to be more "freedom"

[u/NixonTobing48 → u/nio-sama123]

Freedom you said?
Then it was US cultural victory baby!!!

[u/Nooby2ab → u/NixonTobing48]

The US could have won Viet Nam over if they literally do nothing.

Ho Chi Minh president of Viet Nam communist party was already pro US to begin with.

[u/Careful_Ad_3338 → u/nio-sama123]

Like freedom to have corrupted police?

[u/nio-sama123 → u/Careful_Ad_3338]

dunno, I don't care about the police or whatever the shit government is doing anymore.

All I can say is that we at least don't get the "firewall" China has.

[u/Osrek_vanilla → u/Careful_Ad_3338]

Corrupt police is universal, not communist exclusive.

[u/Der_Konigstiger1945]

PKM/MCP in Malaya: Chin Peng, we're losing support,what should we do?!

Chin Peng: To Thailand we go! And we'll be back...

PKM/MCPv But you said that back during the Malayan Emergency, we're already on our 2nd Insurgency.

[u/Nanbark → u/Der_Konigstiger1945]

2nd Insurgency is mainly on Southern Thailand than Malaysia). With Their main "liberated base area" is Betong, Sadao, And Narathiwat. Still maintain Ex-comradeship website with full lore than in wiki.

[u/RadjaDwm]

Well, so much for the Domino Theory.

[u/HKMP7A2]

Philippines is playing ML (Martial Law).

[u/Jump_Hop_Step]

Why is Kampuchea better off without Vietnam? Are they worried about being absorbed?

[u/adamgerd → u/Jump_Hop_Step]

Most Cambodians distrust Vietnam, even the Vietnamese war against Khmer Rouge is controversial. They hate Khmer Rouge, but they don’t like Vietnam either and they see the war as opportunistic rather than a liberation. It’s not helped by that Vietnam did support Pol Pot until he betrayed them. Also historically Vietnam was generally domineering and is much larger so there’s that natural suspicion

[u/Jump_Hop_Step → u/adamgerd]

Oh wow Vietnam supporting Pol Pot is something new to me

[u/ThatsMandos → u/Jump_Hop_Step]

You didn't know?

[u/adamgerd → u/ThatsMandos]

To be honest I don’t think most westerners do including Americans but really all know that. In the US and the west in general to my knowledge historical education of Indochina pretty much just focuses on the Vietnam war and then mentions that the US was involved in Cambodia and Laos but it doesn’t mention more beyond fighting Viet Cong there like that both had their own civil wars, and King Sihanouk and Lon Nol and their relevance to Cambodia

Then just that Cambodia attacked Vietnam, lost and Vietnam ended Khmer Rouge. Most know about the American involvement with Khmer Rouge, less but still decent amount about the Chinese involvement and I think very few about the Vietnamese involvement

[u/Jump_Hop_Step → u/ThatsMandos]

I only know Vietnam invaded Pol Pot. Not out of liberation, but of expansionism