Dams, pines and tribes: reflections on frontier development in the Philippines

Abstract

1. Frontier peoples in Asia: a sad story. Living in the frontier regions of the countries in Asia is, today, an increasingly dangerous and unsettling experience. The news media frequently report unrest among the cultural minori- ties in frontiers as diverse as Pakistan's Baluchistan Province, Bangla- desh's Chittagong Hilltracts, Thailand's Southern "Malay" provinces, East Malaysia's tribal districts, Indonesia's Irian Jaya, the Philippines' "Muslim" Mindanao, and Vietnam's Highlands, to name but a few. The region's tribal peoples are particularly restive, frequently in oppo- sition to central governments, and increasingly resorting to armed confrontation.