ABSTRACT
Relations between the communist governments in control of the Indochinese peninsula and the noncommunist governments of the five member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are marked by political hostility and ideological cleavage. Three ASEAN countries have exchanged diplomatic missions with the People's Republic of China, while Hanoi signals its interest in normalizing relations with the United States, albeit on its own terms. How conditions have changed in the region becomes apparent by comparing the current international orientations of Southeast Asian countries with those of twenty years ago, when after the Geneva Conference of July 1954 and the Bandung Conference of April 1955 these nations first asserted themselves as independent actors in world affairs. The industrial democracies remain the most important source of technology transfer and higher education for the noncommunist countries, while the communist countries of Southeast Asia depend heavily on Soviet, Chinese, and Eastern European sources for similar benefits.
