Indochina

(ĭnˌdō-chīˈnə)

1. A peninsula of southeast Asia comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar (Burma), and the mainland territory of Malaysia. The area was influenced in early times by India (particularly the Hindu culture) and China.
2. The former French colonial empire in southeast Asia, including much of the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula. French influence extended from roughly 1862 to the fall of Dien Bien Phu (1954).

Related Forms:

• Inˌdo·chiˌneseˈ (-nēzˈ, -nēsˈ) adjective & n.