ABSTRACT

The tsunami that roll across the Indian Ocean on December 26, 2004, affected several countries. Tsunamis are caused by submarine earthquakes. The cyclone almost bypassed the principal city of Yangon, as it headed northeast, and remained a force, albeit weak, until it reached the Myanmar-Thai border. The Indian Meteorological Department had alerted Myanmar on April 30 about the possible development of what it termed "very severe cyclone storm Nargis." Southeast Asia has, for some time, been a major region for terrorism, particularly in Malaysia, southern Thailand, southern Philippines, and Indonesia. The US action against global terrorism may cause repercussions in Muslim countries, and complicate the situation in Southeast Asia. In the beginning of the new millennium, the Muslim separatist movement in the southern Philippines was led by a particularly vicious Muslim group operating in West Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago.