SOUTHEAST ASIA IN 2005: Strength in the Face of Adversity

Abstract

Southeast Asia greeted 2005 in a sombre mood, as the full scale of devastation in the wake of the tsunami triggered by a massive earthquake that sent giant waves crashing into the coastlines of north Sumatra, southern Thailand, northwestern Malaysia, and Myanmar became apparent. Almost a quarter million people were killed across the region, a loss of life almost too great to comprehend. In Aceh alone as many as 180,000 people died as a wall of dark water 10 metres high travelling at speeds of almost 400 miles an hour rushed onshore crushing everything in its path. From the air, it still looks like the aftermath of an atom blast. The tsunami was a particular blow for Indonesia, which had just crowned a protracted and messy democratic transition with successful multi-party elections and the first direct presidential election at the end of 2004. The new government led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was poised to inaugurate a new era of confidence and stability for Indonesia. Hopes ran high. Southeast Asia badly needed its largest component state to get back on track or face the prospect of unfavourable comparison with the booming economies of China and India.