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A review by kontramundum
Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific by Robert D. Kaplan
3.0
Insightful primer on the geopolitical relationship between China and Southeast Asia. Being Malaysian, the chapter on Malaysia was of particular interest, as it allowed me to gauge the accuracy and depth of Kaplan's analysis.
Unfortunately there are glaring mistakes littered throughout the chapter, e.g. "Chinese and Indians know Malay, but the Malays, whose Islamic fervor is felt mainly in the cities, speak no Chinese and Hindi." First, the Indians in Malaysia are generally of South Indian origin and speak mainly Tamil, not Hindi. Second, the "Islamic fervor" is actually weaker in the cities than the less developed eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia where the Malay-Muslim population is concentrated and where the Pan-Islamic Malaysian Party (PAS) has very strong support (and where it rules the state of Kelantan). Third, there is no such language as Chinese; Malaysian Chinese speak Mandarin and southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien.
Nitpicking maybe? Perhaps Kaplan isn't an expert on Malaysia, but it made me question his accuracy on the other countries in the book and on the whole issue. Admittedly, I might also have been biased when reading this book as Kaplan came across as a not very well-disguised American apologist.
Well worth a read nonetheless. Moving on to Bill Hayton's "The South China: The Struggle for Power in Asia" next.
Unfortunately there are glaring mistakes littered throughout the chapter, e.g. "Chinese and Indians know Malay, but the Malays, whose Islamic fervor is felt mainly in the cities, speak no Chinese and Hindi." First, the Indians in Malaysia are generally of South Indian origin and speak mainly Tamil, not Hindi. Second, the "Islamic fervor" is actually weaker in the cities than the less developed eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia where the Malay-Muslim population is concentrated and where the Pan-Islamic Malaysian Party (PAS) has very strong support (and where it rules the state of Kelantan). Third, there is no such language as Chinese; Malaysian Chinese speak Mandarin and southern Chinese dialects such as Cantonese and Hokkien.
Nitpicking maybe? Perhaps Kaplan isn't an expert on Malaysia, but it made me question his accuracy on the other countries in the book and on the whole issue. Admittedly, I might also have been biased when reading this book as Kaplan came across as a not very well-disguised American apologist.
Well worth a read nonetheless. Moving on to Bill Hayton's "The South China: The Struggle for Power in Asia" next.