1. Upon release of Gangnam Style in 2012, South Korean musician Psy, became an unlikely
global treasure; loved and imitated by Prime Ministers and small children alike. Not only did Psy
beat You Tube records as the first person to gain 1 billion views, but he retains his position of
most viewed video with current viewings of 2,802,722,518. Topping the music charts of 30
different countries by the end of 2012, Gangnam Style refers to the wealthy lifestyle within the
Gangnam District of Seoul.
2. South Korean men like to make the most of their appearances and, as such, it is believed that
almost a quarter of men use makeup as part of their daily routine.
3. Women too like to make the most of their appearances which places South Korea in the prime
position of the country with the highest per capita cosmetic procedures globally. It is estimated
that a fifth of South Korean women have undertaken at least one cosmetic procedure (with eyelid
surgery being the most popular).
5. Partnering Japan in this honourable accolade, South Korea has the lowest number of obese
citizens in the world. Well with their healthy diet no wonder!
6. South Korea uses crime re-enactment as a way of demonstrating to the public that it is in full
control in the investigation of crimes which have received wide public attention. Crime re-
enactment involves escorting the accused to the scene in which the crime took place and
ordering them to re-enact what happened. A humiliating event, the accused is photographed by
the media and the public are allowed to spectate. This is something that has attracted
considerable human rights interest as the individuals involved have often yet to be charged. In a
culture where face is everything, the fall out for those who are subsequently found to be
innocent can be devastating.
7. The number four is considered unlucky in South Korea. In much the same way that you wont
find a hospital bed in the UK numbered 13 for example, you wont find the fourth floor in South
Korea and houses wont be numbered 4. Bearers of gifts in South Korea are also unlikely to take
gifts in blocks of four e.g. four red roses. Why is it unlucky? Some claim that it is because it
sounds like the Chinese word for death. Other superstitions suggest that you shouldnt allow
your legs to shake restlessly or your feet to tap about as you are literally shaking off any good
luck that might be coming your way. Its also suggested that you dont give your partner new
shoes as they might use them to run away in.
8. For all those who love takeaway food, you will certainly find Fact Number 8 very cool. The
majority of restaurants including those such as MacDonalds, will deliver food directly to your
door. You dont even need to clean your rubbish up afterwards just leave it outside your door
and the delivery person will pick it up later.
9. Valentines Day takes on a new element in South Korea as men are the subject of gifts and
pampering.
10. Like a number of other cultures, babies in South Korea are considered one year old at birth.
For those not familiar with this concept, (and to confuse you even more), following the New Year
in South Korea, everybody automatically ages a year. If therefore, a new born baby enters the
world in the last week of December as a one year old, then the same child is considered two
years old a couple of weeks later.
Isolation nation
The Korean peninsula has long been a battlefield for the world powers nearby. Japan controlled
Korea (then one nation), until the end of World War II; after Japan's surrender, the United States
and Soviet Union sliced the country along the 38th parallel, with the United States administering
the south and the Soviet Union controlling the north.
This division became permanent after the United Nations failed to negotiate a reunification in
1948. The first president of North Korea, Kim Il Sung, declared a policy of "self-reliance,"
essentially shutting the nation off diplomatically and economically from the rest of the world.
It's a philosophy called iuche, or self-mastery. The idea is that the North Korean people must rely
on themselves only. This philosophy, according to Kim Il Sung, required North Korea to maintain
political and economic independence (even in the face of famine in the 1990s) and to create a
strong national defense system.
3 of 9
National prison
All the fanciful and funny myths about North Korea's dictators cover up a disturbing truth,
however: Some 154,000 North Koreans live in prison camps, according to South Korean
government estimates. (Other international bodies put the number at closer to 200,000). There
are six camps, surrounded by electrified barbed wire. Two camps allow for some "rehabilitation"
and release of prisoners, according to "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey
from North Korea to Freedom in the West" (Viking, 2012). The rest are prisons for life.
"Escape from Camp 14" tells the story of Shin Dong-hyuk, the only person known to have
escaped from one of these camps and to have made it to the outside world. Shin was born in the
camp; his father was imprisoned because his brother had abandoned North Korea for South
Korea decades earlier.
Torture, malnutrition, slave labor and public execution are ways of life in the camps, which are
known from satellite imagery. An Amnesty International report in 2011 estimated that 40 percent
of camp prisoners die of malnutrition.
5 of 9
Even the government's own tools have been co-opted, according to "Escape from Camp 14."
Vehicle ownership in North Korea is allowed only for the military and the government, and travel
for citizens is severely restricted. But in the 1990s, corrupt military and party elite made a habit
of registering vehicles and then hiring private drivers to pick up people who needed
transportation, essentially creating private taxi companies that are crucial to smuggling
operations around the country.
7 of 9
Internet lockdown
The Internet is almost completely inaccessible in North Korea, with access only by permission
and for government authorities. North Koreans with access to a computer (people living in major
cities, primarily) can reach only Kwangmyong, a closed domestic network.
Until this year, reporters traveling to North Korea had to turn in their mobile phones at the
border. But in February, the government enabled 3G access for foreigner visitors only.
8 of 9
Difficult adjustments
With such limited access to the outside world, North Koreans who do make it out often struggle
to adjust. Many are paranoid, a skill that served them well at home where anyone could turn
anyone else in to the police for saying the wrong thing. Some are cognitively impaired by early
malnutrition. And few know anything about world history outside of North Korean propaganda.
[Top 10 Controversial Psychiatric Disorders]
"Education in North Korea is useless for life in South Korea," Gwak Jong-moon, principal of a
boarding school for North Korean refugees, told Blaine Harden, the author of "Escape from Camp
14." "When you are too hungry, you don't go to learn and teachers don't go to teach. Many of our
students have been hiding in China for years with no access to schools. As young children in
North Korea, they grew up eating bark off trees and thinking it was normal."
According to Harden, the suicide rate for North Korean refugees in South Korea is two-and-a-half
times that of the rate for South Koreans.
71 Interesting Facts about Indonesia
The name Indonesia is derived from the Latin word Indus meaning Indian and the Greek
wordnesos meaning island. Indonesia was originally called Indian Archipelago or East Indies
Islands.[12]
The name Indonesia was coined in the 1850s by James Logan, editor of the Singapore-
published Journal of the Indian Archipelago and Eastern Asia, as a shorter equivalent for the term
Indian Archipelago.[11]
Indonesia is the worlds largest country comprised solely of islands. It is composed of 17,508
islands, some 6,000 of which are inhabited. [14]
With 238 million people, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world, just behind
China, India, and the U.S. The island of Java, with over 140 million people, is the most populous
island in the world.[14]
On September 8, 1664, the Dutch under Pieter Stuyvesant made one of the most bizarre real
estate deals ever when he traded the rights of the island of New Amsterdam (now the island of
Manhattan) for the tiny British-controlled Indonesian island of Run. This transaction was also an
important turning point in American history.[8]
Krakatoa's explosion is widely believed to be the loudest sound ever heard in modern history
Krakatoa, a volcano in Indonesia, is the site of the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded.
Occurring on August 27, 1883, it had a force equivalent to 2,000 Hiroshima bombs and resulted
in the death of 36,000 people. A tsunami 131 feet (40 m) high, radiating outward at a speed
reportedly of over 311 mph (500 kph), destroyed coastal towns and villages. The explosion was
heard from Sri Lanka to Perth, Australia, and the resulting waves led to a noticeable surge in the
English Channel. It was the greatest volume of sound recorded in human history. [7]
Clove-impregnated kretek cigarette sales account for 90% of the cigarette sales in Indonesia.
They were fist marketed by Nitsemito, a man from Kudus, Java, in 1906, who said kretek helped
his asthma. His Bal Tiga (Three Balls) brand grew into one of the biggest Indonesian-owned
businesses in the Dutch East Indies. [11]
According to the old Javanese tradition of pingit, or confinement, Indonesian girls from the ages
of 12 to 16 are virtually imprisoned and forbidden outside the family home. [11]
On the Indonesian island of Flores in September 2003, archaeologists discovered a skeleton the
size of a three-year-old child but with the worn-down teeth and bone structure of an adult. They
named the skeleton Homo floriensis, later nicknamed Hobbit. Experts think that Hobbits were
part of Homo erectus species that fled from Africa around two million years ago and spread
throughout Asia.[11]
The Indonesia Pasola has to be the most extravagant and bloodiest harvest festivals in Asia. Two
teams of spear-wielding ikat-clad horsemen gallop at each other, hurling their spears at rival
riders. Despite the blunt spears, injuries and occasional accidental deaths still occur. [11]
Papuans, native to the worlds second largest island Papua/New Guinea, are Melanesians and
very distinct from other Indonesians. The Portuguese, who originally discovered New Guinea and
its surrounding islands in the early 16th century, originally called the islands Ilhas dos Papuas,
from the Malay word papuwah (fuzzy-haired). [11]
Bird of Paradise feathers have long been used in Papua traditional dress and they became so
popular as European fashion accessories before World War I that the birds came close to
extinction. Trade in the feathers has been illegal in Indonesia since 2000, although the feathers
are still smuggled out of Papua. [11]
GEOGRAPHY
Myanmar, a republic in South-East Asia, bounded on the north by Tibet Autonomous Region of
China; on the east by China, Laos, and Thailand; on the south by the Andaman Sea and the Bay
of Bengal; and on the west by the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, and India. It is officially known as
the Union of Myanmar. The coastal region is known as Lower Myanmar, while the interior region
is known as Upper Myanmar. The total area of the country is 676,552 square km (261,218 square
miles).
A horseshoe-shaped mountain complex and the valley of the Ayarwaddy (Irrawaddy) River
system are the dominant topographical features of Myanmar. The mountains of the northern
margin rise to 5881 meters (19,296 ft) atop Hkakabo Razi, the highest peak in Southeast Asia.
The two other mountain systems have northern to southern axes. The Arakan Yoma range, with
peaks reaching more than 2740 meters (about 9000 ft), forms a barrier between Myanmar and
the subcontinent of India. The Bilauktaung range, the southern extension of the Shan Plateau,
lies along the boundary between southwestern Thailand and southeastern Lower Myanmar. The
Shan Plateau, originating in China, has an average elevation of about 910 meters (about 3000
ft).
Generally narrow and elongated in the interior, the central lowlands attain a width of about
320km (about 200 miles) across the Ayarwaddy-Sittaung delta. The delta plains, extremely fertile
and economically the most important section of the country, cover an area of about 46,620 sq.
km (18,000 sq. ml.). Both the Arakan (in the northwest) and the Tenasserim (in the southwest)
coasts of myanmar are rocky and fringed with islands. The country has a number of excellent
natural harbours.
ABOUT LAOS
Lao Peoples Democratic Republic (Lao PDR) is located in the heart of the Indochinese
peninsular, in Southeast Asia, at a latitude of 14 to 23 degrees north and longitude 100 to
108 degrees east.
Lao PDR shares a 505 km border with China to the north, 435 km of border with Cambodia to
the south, 2,069 km of border with Vietnam to the east, 1,835 km of border with Thailand to
the west, and a 236 km border with Myanmar to the northwest. The country stretches 1,700
km from north to South, with an east-west width of over-500 km at its widest, and only 140
km at the narrowest point.
Lao PDR covers a total of 236,800 square kilometres, three-quarters of which is mountains
and plateaux. The country has three distinct regions.
The north is dominated by mountains that average 1,500 metres above sea level. The
highest peak is the 2,800 metre Phou Bia in Xieng Khouang province. The Phou Luang
(Annamite Chain) stretches from the southeast of the Phouane Plateau down to the
Cambodian border. It has three large plateaux: Phouane Plateau in Xieng Khouang province,
Nakai Plateau in Khammouane province, and Boloven Plateau in southern Laos, 1,000 m
above sea level.
The plains region comprises large and small plains along the Mekong River. The largest of
these is the Vientiane Plain, on the lower reaches of the Nam Ngum River. Also significant are
the Savannakhet plain, on the lower reaches of the Se Bang Fai and Se Bang Hieng rivers,
and the Champassak plain, which is on the Mekong River, stretching between the Thai and
Cambodian borders. Blessed with fertile soil, these plains represent one quarter of the total
area and are the "granaries" of the country.
The Lao PDR is criss-crossed by many rivers and streams. The Mekong River flows through
1,835 km of the country from north to south. Rivers and streams provide great potential for
hydropower development. Over half of the power potential in the lower Mekong Basin is
contained within Laos.
The Nam Ou river flows from Phonsaly to Luang Prabang for 448 km; the Nam Ngum runs
354 km from Xieng Khouang to Vientiane province; the Se Bang Hieng of Savannakhet
province is 338 km long; the Nam Tha runs from Luang Namtha to Bokeo for 325 km; the
Nam Sekong runs 320 km from Saravane and Sekong to Attopeu province; the Se Bang Fai
runs between Khammouane and Savannakhet for 239 km; Oudomsay province's Nam Beng
covers 215 km; the Nam Sedong flows for 192 km between Saravane and Champassak; the
Nam Selanong in Savannakhet runs for 115 km; the Nam Kading of Borikhamsay province is
103 km long; the Nam Khanh runs for 90 km between Huaphanh and Luang Prabang.
Being a tropical country, the weather in Laos is influenced by monsoons. The weather in the
mountains in the north and in the high range of the Annamite Chain bordering Vietnam in
the east is semi-tropical. The difference in day and night temperatures is about 10 deg C.
Laos has around 2,300-2,400 hours of sunlight per year. The atmospheric humidity is usually
70-80%, and 75-90% of the precipitation is recorded in the rainy season, May to October.
Rainfall in the dry season, November to April, accounts for only 10-25%. There is a sharp
difference in rainfall between regions. For instance, in the Phou Luang (Annamite Chain), the
annual average rainfall is around 300 millimetres. In Xieng Khouang, Luang Prabang and
Sayaboury provinces, annual rainfall is 100-150 millimetres; in Vientiane and Savannakhet
150-200 millimetres of rainfalls every year.
Laos has an abundance of natural resources. Beneath the earth's surface, the mineral
deposits include tin, iron, coal, zinc, copper, gold, silver, sulphur and sapphires. Although
mining is still in its infancy, surveys show that the quantity and density of mineral deposits
are quite high. On the surface, the country has a wealth of forests, covering 47% of the
surface. They comprise a variety of species, with many of high economic value such as
Khagnoung, Khamphi, Dou, Eaglewood and Longleng.
The forest regions are also rich in non-timber products such as shellac, benzoin, cardamon,
pine resin, rattan and medicinal plants, and there is a wide range of fauna, including
elephants, tigers, bears, deer and a newly-discovered species of deer called Saola.
Such wealth represents a great potential for the development of the country, ensuring a
brighter future and better living standards for its people.
International borders are shared with Thailand and the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic on the
West and the North, and the Social Republic of Viet Nam on the East and the Southeast. The
country is bounded on the Southeast by the Gulf of Thailand. In comparison with neighbors,
Cambodia is a geographical contact country administratively composed of 20 provinces, three of
which have relatively short maritime boundaries, 2 municipalities, 172 districts, and 1,547
communes. The country has a coastline of 435 km and extensive mangrove stands, some of
which are relatively undisturbed.
The dominant features of the Cambodian landscape are the large, almost generally located, Tonle
Sap (Great Lake) and the Bassac River Systems and the Mekong River, which crosses the country
from North to South. Surrounding the Central Plains which covered three quarters of the
countrys area are the more densely forested and sparsely populated highlands, comprising: the
Elephant Mountains and Cardamom Mountain of the southwest and western regions; the Dangrek
Mountains of the North adjoining of the Korat Plateau of Thailand; and Rattanakiri Plateau and
Chhlong highlands on the east merging with the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.
The Tonle Sap Basin-Mekong Lowlands region consists mainly of plains with elevations generally
of less than 100 meters.
As the elevation increases, the terrain becomes more rolling and dissected.
The Cardamom Mountains in the southwest rise to more than 1,500 meters and is oriented
generally in a northwest-southeast direction. The highest mountain in Cambodia Phnom Aural,
at 1.771meters is in the eastern part of this range.
The Elephant Range, an extension of Cardamom Mountains, runs towards the south and the
southeast and rises to elevations of between 500 and 1,000 meters. These two range are
bordered on the west are narrow coastal plain facing the gulf of Thailand that contains Kampong
Som Bay. The Dangrek Mountains at the northern rim of Tonle Sap Basin, consisting of a steep
escarpment on the southern edge of the Korat Plateau in Thailand, marks the boundary between
Thailand and Cambodia. The average elevation of about 500 meters with the highest points
reaching more than 700 meters. Between the northern part of the Cardamom ranges and the
western part of the Dangrek, lies and extension of the Tonle Sap Basin that merges into the
plains in Thailand, allowing easy accesses from the border of Bangkok.
The Mekong River Cambodias largest river, dominates the hydrology of the country. The river
originates in mainland China, flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand before entering Cambodia.
At Phnom Penh, with alternative arms, the Bassak River from the south, and the Tonle Sap River
linking with the " Great Lake " itself Tonle Sap form northwest. It continues further
southeastward to its lower delta in Viet Nam and to the South China Sea.
The section of Mekong River passing through Cambodia lies within the topical wet and dry zone.
It has a pronounced dry season during the Northern Hemisphere winter, with about 80 percent of
the annual rainfall occurring during the southwest monsoon in May-October. The Mekong River
average annual flow at Krati of 441 km3 is estimated as 93 percent of the total Mekong run-off
discharge into the sea. The discharge at Krati ranges from a minimum of 1,250m3/s to the
maximum 66,700m3/s.
The role of Tonle Sap as a buffer of the Mekong River system floods and the source of beneficial
dry season flows warrants explanation. The Mekong River swells with waters during the monsoon
reaching a flood discharge of 40,000m3/s at Phnom Penh. By about mid-June, the flow of Mekong
and the Bassak River fed by monsoon rains increases to a point where its outlets through the
delta cannot handle the enormous volume of water, flooding extensive adjacent floodplains for 4-
7 months. At this point, instead of overflowing its backs, its floodwaters reserve the flow of the
Tonle Sap River (about 120 km in length), which then has the maximum inflow rate of 1.8m/s and
enters the Grate Lake, the largest natural lake in Southeast Asia, increasing the size of the lake
from about 2,600 km2 to 10,00 km2 and exceptionally to 13,000 km2 and raising the water level
by and average 7m at the height of the flooding. This specificity of the Tonle Sap makes it the
only "river with return " in the world.
After the Mekongs water crest (when its downstream channels can handle the volume of water),
the flow reverses and water flows out of the engorged lake. The Great Lake then acts as a natural
flood retention basin. When the floods subside, water starts flowing out of the Great Lake,
reaching a maximum outflow rate of 2.0m/s and, over the dry season, increase mainstream flows
by about 16 percent, thus helping to reduce salinity intrusion in the lower Mekong Delta in Viet
Nam. By the time the lake water level drops to its minimum surface size, a band 20-30 km wide
of inundate forest is left dry with deposits of a new layer of sediment. This forest, which is of
great significance for fish, is now greatly reduced in size through salvation and deforestation. The
area flood around Phnom Penh and down to the Vietnamese border is about 7,000 km2.
Strategically positioned between the Pacific and Indian oceans, Indonesia is an archipelagic
nation containing over 18,000 islands. Of those, the larger islands of Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan
(which comprises two-thirds of the island of Borneo), Sulawesi, and Irian Jaya are quite
mountainous, with some peaks reaching 12,000 ft.
The highest elevations (over 16,000 ft) are found on Irian Jaya in the east, with the highest point
being Puncak Jaya at 16,502 ft. (5,030 m).
Indonesia's former tallest peak, Mount Tambora (8,930 ft, 2,722 m), is an active stratovolcano
whose 1815 eruption was the largest ever in recorded history - killing nearly 71,000 people.
The explosion alone was heard as far west as Sumatra island, some 1,200 miles (2,000 km)
away, and ash falls were recorded on the islands of Borneo, Sulawesi, Java and Maluku.
Located along the Ring of Fire, Indonesia has about 400 volcanoes within its borders, with at
least 90 still active in some way.
The most active volcanoes are Kelut (which has erupted more than 30 times since 1000 AD) and
Merapi (which has erupted more than 80 times since 1000 AD) on Java island.
Due to its location between numerous tectonic plates, including two continental plates: the
Eurasian Plate (Sunda Shelf) and the Australian Plate (Sahul Shelf); and two oceanic plates: the
Philippine Sea Plate and Pacific Plate; natural disasters are common in Indonesia.
Most notable is the 9.2 earthquake that struck in the Indian Ocean which triggered the Tsunami
of December, 2004and devastated many of the islands within Indonesia's archipelago.
In addition to the mountainous landscape, much of the islands are covered in thick tropical
rainforests that give way to coastal plains.
Significant rivers of Indonesia include the Barito, Digul, Hari, Kampar, Kapuas, Kayan and Musi;
as well, there are also scattered inland lakes which are relatively small in size.
Mongolia is the worlds second largest landlocked country and occupies a territory of 1.56 million
square kilometers: It extends 2,392 kilometers from west to east and 1,259 kilometers from
north to south. Mongolia is located in Northern Asia, bordered by Russia in the north and China
in the south, east and west.
Mongolia has approximately 3,000 rivers with a combined length of approximately 67,000
kilometers, over 3,000 lakes, 6,900 springs, 190 glaciers and 250 mineral water springs.
Ulaanbaatar has the lowest average temperature of any national capital city in the world.
Mongolias average annual rainfall, measures between 200 to 220 millimeters and it has
approximately 250 cloudless days each year, earning it the nickname country of blue sky.
Location: Northern Asia, landlocked between China and Russia
Area: 1,565 thousand square kilometers (19th largest in the world)
Boundaries: Total: 8,253 kilometers, with China (4,710 kilometers in the south), and with
Russia (3,543 kilometers in the north)
Climate: Dry continental climate with desert, steppe and mountain zones with large daily
and seasonal temperature ranges
Major natural resources: Copper, coal, iron ore, gold, silver, fluorspar, uranium, tin, tungsten, oil
and rare earth elements
A democratic republic
located in the Western
Pacific Ocean, the Republic
of the Philippines is made up
of the Philippine Islands and
is the island group at the
northernmost part of the
Malay Archipelago.
The Philippines is situated
about 1,210 km (about 750
mi) east of the coast of
Vietnam and is separated in
the north from Taiwan by
the Bashi Channel.
Bounded on the east by the
Philippine Sea (and Pacific
Ocean), on the south by the
Celebes Sea, and on the
west by the South China
Sea, the archipelagic state
comprises about 7,100
islands. Resulting from this
situation are great
variations in climate,
geography and vegetation.
Geographic coordinates:
13 00 N, 122 00 E
Map references:
Southeast Asia
Area:
total: 300,000 sq km
country comparison to the world: 72
land: 298,170 sq km
water: 1,830 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Arizona
Land boundaries:
0 km
Coastline:
36,289 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: irregular polygon extending up to 100 nm from coastline as defined by 1898
treaty; since late 1970s has also claimed polygonal-shaped area in South China Sea up to 285
nm in breadth
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: to depth of exploitation
Climate:
Current Weather
tropical marine; northeast monsoon (November to April); southwest monsoon (May to October)
Terrain:
mostly mountains with narrow to extensive coastal lowlands
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Philippine Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Apo 2,954 m
Natural resources:
timber, petroleum, nickel, cobalt, silver, gold, salt, copper
Land use:
arable land: 19%
permanent crops: 16.67%
other: 64.33% (2005)
Irrigated land:
15,500 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards:
astride typhoon belt, usually affected by 15 and struck by five to six cyclonic storms per year;
landslides; active volcanoes; destructive earthquakes; tsunamis
volcanism: the Philippines experience significant volcanic activity; Taal (elev. 311 m, 1,020 ft),
which has shown recent unrest and may erupt in the near future, has been deemed a "Decade
Volcano" by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior,
worthy of study due to its explosive history and close proximity to human populations; Mayon
(elev. 2,462 m, 8,077 ft), the country's most active volcano, erupted in 2009 forcing over 33,000
to be evacuated; other historically active volcanoes include Biliran, Babuyan Claro, Bulusan,
Camiguin, Camiguin de Babuyanes, Didicas, Iraya, Jolo, Kanlaon, Makaturing, Musuan, Parker,
Pinatubo and Ragang
Geography - note:
the Philippine archipelago is made up of 7,107 islands; favorably located in relation to many of
Southeast Asia's main water bodies: the South China Sea, Philippine Sea, Sulu Sea, Celebes Sea,
and Luzon Strait