Editing History of Southeast Asia (section)

===Post-war decolonisation===
[[File:Bruce Crandall's UH-1D.jpg|thumb|right|Combat operations at Ia Drang Valley, during [[Vietnam War]], November 1965.]]

With the rejuvenated nationalist movements in wait, the Europeans returned to a very different Southeast Asia after [[World War II]]. [[Indonesia]] [[Proclamation of Indonesian Independence|declared independence]] on 17 August 1945 and subsequently [[Indonesian National Revolution|fought a bitter war]] against the returning Dutch; the Philippines was granted independence by the United States in 1946; Burma secured their independence from Britain in 1948, and the [[France|French]] were driven from [[French Indochina|Indochina]] in 1954 after a bitterly fought war (the [[Indochina War]]) against communist Vietnamese nationalists. The [[United Nations]] provided a forum for nationalism, post-independent self-definition, nation-building and the acquisition of territorial integrity for many newly independent nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://projectsoutheastasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SEAS2012_OpeningPanel-Papers.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://projectsoutheastasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/SEAS2012_OpeningPanel-Papers.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Some reflections on Southeast Asia and its position in academia  |publisher=Project Southeast Asia |author=Tom G. Hoogervorst |access-date= 14 January 2018}}</ref>

During the [[Cold War]], countering the threat of [[communism]] was a major theme in the [[decolonisation]] process. After suppressing the communist insurrection during the [[Malayan Emergency]] from 1948 to 1960, Britain granted independence to [[Federation of Malaya|Malaya]] and later, [[Singapore]], [[Sabah]] and [[Sarawak]] in 1957 and 1963 respectively within the framework of the [[Malaysia|Federation of Malaysia]]. In one of the most bloody single incidents of violence in Cold War Southeast Asia, General Suharto [[Overthrow of Sukarno|seized power in Indonesia]] in 1965 and initiated [[Indonesian mass killings of 1965–1966|a massacre]] of approximately 500,000 alleged members of the [[Communist Party of Indonesia]] (PKI).

After French defeat in Điện Biên Phủ, France granted complete independence to the anti-communist [[State of Vietnam]] on 4 June 1954 before the communists took over the North in July.{{sfn|Turner|1975|p=93}} [[North Vietnam]]ese attempts to conquer [[South Vietnam]] resulted in the [[Vietnam War]]. The conflict spread to [[Laos]] and [[Cambodia]] and heavy intervention from the [[United States]]. By the war's end in 1975, all these countries were controlled by communist parties. After the communist victory, two wars between communist states—the [[Cambodian–Vietnamese War]] of 1975–89 and the [[Sino-Vietnamese War]] of 1979—were fought in the region. The victory of the [[Khmer Rouge]] in Cambodia resulted in the [[Cambodian genocide]].<ref>Frey, Rebecca Joyce (2009). ''Genocide and International Justice''.</ref><ref>Olson, James S.; Roberts, Randy (2008). ''Where the Domino Fell: America and Vietnam 1945–1995'' (5th ed.). Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing</ref>

In 1975, Portuguese rule ended in East Timor. However, independence was short-lived as Indonesia [[Indonesian invasion of East Timor|annexed the territory]] soon after. However, after more than [[Indonesian occupation of East Timor|20 years of fighting Indonesia]], East Timor won its independence and was recognised by the UN in 2002. Finally, Britain ended its protectorate of the Sultanate of [[Brunei]] in 1984, marking the end of European rule in Southeast Asia.