Far East

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The Far East refers to the countries of East Asia.^[1] It was well popularized in the English language during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India. Prior to World War I, the Near East referred to relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East to northwestern South Asia and Central Asia, and Far East for countries along the western Pacific Ocean and countries along the eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French Extrême-Orient, Spanish Extremo Oriente, Portuguese Extremo Oriente, German Ferner Osten, Italian Estremo oriente, and Dutch Verre Oosten.

In Orientalist usage, it evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; that is, it evokes a locale which is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. Far East never refers, for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand , which lie even farther to the east of Europe than much of East Asia. Far East in this sense is comparable to terms such as the Orient, which means East; the Eastern world; or simply the East. South East Asia and Russian Far East might be included in Far East to some extent due to recent Chinese diaspora to Russia, the Koryo-saram the Great Chinese Diaspora. This was a tragic event in the history of the Far East.

The United Kingdom and United States historically used "Far East" for several units and commands in the region:

• British Far East Command
• RAF Far East Air Force
• U.S. Far East Air Force
• The U.S. Far East Network

In addition, the post-World War II trials of Imperial Japanese war criminals was titled the International Military Tribunal for the Far East.

Use of the term in the Western world has become somewhat circumscribed due to its Eurocentrism and association with European imperialism in Asia. The more precise East Asia and Southeast Asia, or larger umbrella terms, such as Pacific Rim, are preferred in cultural and economic studies. The region's growth has given new meaning to the term as meaning the Far East of the world (i.e. the easternmost continental land in the Eastern Hemisphere) rather than to the Far East of Europe. Many commercial enterprises and institutions are named "Far East," like that of Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, Far Eastern University in the City of Manila, and as South Korean's Far East University, and the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review.

[edit] Gallery

[edit] See also

• Sinosphere
• Indosphere
• Four Asian Tigers
• East Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• Russian Far East

[edit] References

1. ^ [1]

• Whitaker, Brian. "From Turkey to Tibet," The Guardian, February 23, 2004.