IndoChina

Indochina is a historical term describing the mainland portion of Southeast Asia lying between the Indian subcontinent and China. In common usage today it most often denotes the region of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, though the term has at times been applied more broadly to parts of Thailand, Myanmar, and the Malay Peninsula.

Geographically, Indochina is a peninsular zone bordered by the South China Sea to the east and by the Mekong River system and the Gulf of Thailand to the west. The landscape is varied, with the Annamite Mountain range forming a western spine and fertile river valleys supporting agricultural regions, notably along the Mekong and its tributaries. The region experiences a tropical monsoon climate, with distinct wet and dry seasons.

Historically, the term is closely associated with French Indochina, the colonial political entity established in the late 19th century that included Cochinchina (lower Vietnam), Annam and Tonkin (central and northern Vietnam), Laos, and Cambodia. French rule persisted until the Geneva Agreements of 1954, which led to independence for Laos and Cambodia and a provisional partition of Vietnam at the 17th parallel. The area was a major theater of conflict in the First Indochina War and, in the 1960s–70s, the Vietnam War.

In the modern era, Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia have pursued separate development paths and are all members of ASEAN. The region retains diverse linguistic and religious traditions, with Vietnamese, Lao, and Khmer as predominant languages, and Buddhism playing a central cultural role in Laos and Cambodia.