Nationalism by itself may not be sufficient to cause wars but it may be helped by the structural
defects of the regional order in Southeast Asia. The first defect involves deep historical
resentment among neighbors, in particular those between Thailand and Myanmar, Cambodia and
Vietnam, and Cambodia and Thailand. Unlike the tensions between Singapore and Malaysia
which may not last beyond the first or second generation of state leaders, the historical tensions
among Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam went back centuries and are likely to persist.
Nationalism has already rekindled these tensions in Thailand and Cambodia.