Southeast Asiaball

Southeast Asiaball, also spelled South East Asiaball and South-East Asiaball, and also known as Southeastern Asiaball or SEAball, is the geographical southeastern subregion of Asiaball, consisting of the regions that are south of Chinaball, south-east of the Indian subcontinent and north-west of Australiaball. Southeast Asiaball is bordered to the north by East Asiaball, to the west by South Asiaball and the Bay of Bengal, to the east by Oceaniaball and the Pacific Ocean, and to the south by Australiaball and the Indian Ocean. Apart from the British Indian Ocean Territoryball and two out of 26 atolls of Maldivesball in South Asiaball, Southeast Asiaball is the only other subregion of Asiaball that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere. The majority of the subregion is still in the Northern Hemisphere. East Timorball and the southern portion of Indonesiaball are the only parts that are south of the Equator.

In contemporary definition, Southeast Asiaball consists of two geographic regions:


 * 1) Mainland Southeast Asiaball, also known as the Indochinese Peninsulaball and historically as Indochinaball, comprising Cambodiaball, Laosball, Myanmarball, Peninsular Malaysiaball, Thailandball, and Vietnamball.
 * 2) Maritime Southeast Asiaball, also known as the Malay Archipelagoball and historically as Nusantaraball, comprising the Andaman and Nicobar Islandsball (Indiaball), Bruneiball, Christmas Islandball (Australiaball), the Cocos Islandsball (Australiaball), East Malaysiaball, East Timor, Indonesia, the Philippinesball, and Singaporeball.

The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with both heavy seismic and volcanic activities. The Sunda Plate is the main plate of the region, featuring almost all Southeast Asian countries except Myanmarball, northern Thailandball, northern Laosball, northern Vietnamball, and northern Luzonball of the Philippinesball. The mountain ranges in Myanmarball, Thailandball, and Peninsular Malaysiaball are part of the Alpide belt, while the islands of the Philippinesball are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire. Both seismic belts meet in Indonesiaball, causing the region to have relatively high occurrences of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

It covers about 4,500,000 km2 (1,700,000 sq mi), which is 10.5% of Asiaball or 3% of Earthball's total land area. Its total population is more than 655 million, about 8.5% of the world's population. It is the third most populous geographical region in Asiaball after South Asiaball and East Asiaball. The region is culturally and ethnically diverse, with hundreds of languages spoken by different ethnic groups. Ten countries in the region are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional organization established for economic, political, military, educational and cultural integration amongst its members.