Several movements were formed across the region, often around small groups of intellectuals and students who had travelled to Europe and been inspired by the sweeping promises of communist ideals and the experience of the Russian revolution.
While several failed miserably in their initial attempts at societal transformations, others persisted, created external allies and became powerful vehicles for popular mobilization. The Chinese communist movement added further inspiration as it gained ascendency among the peasantry, organized an effective army and inspired large numbers of Vietnam to resist French and later American control. Its influence and organizational skills also spread to the Khmer and Lao communist movement.
Despite its strong appeal, communist ideology alone could not determine where communist movements would succeed in seizing power.
Other large movements in Indonesia and the Philippines, for instance,were unable to gain ascendency. The Indonesian communist movement was brutally crushed and eliminated after the Indonesia armed forces seized power in 1965. In the Philippines, President Marcos declared martial law and imposed authoritarian rule partly to counter the rising threat of the new people's Army(NPA) ,the armed wing of the communist movement. Marcos failed to crush the NPA. Successive governments were also unable to do so,although the NPA never obtained sufficient support to overthrow either Marcos or democratic governments that succeeded him.
The Cold War framed local struggles and had a large impact on where communist movements succeeded. Vietnam became a focal point during the 1960s. With the United States' involvement, Vietnam became a battleground against the spread of communism. Ironically, its involvement contributed ti deepening support foe the communists, as the Vietnamese population perceived the United States' presence as occupation and suffered dramatically from the war. With support from the Soviet Union and China, the Vietnamese communists won in 1975 and then used their own strategic upper hand to support the Pathet Lao and ensure a communist victory in Laos as well. The Khmer Rouge benefited from the instability and Vietnamese communist victory, as they also seized power that year.
Conversely, the United States strongly supported anti-communist regimes in Indonesia and the Philippines. It disbursed large amounts of aid that contributed to supporting the armed forces and authoritarianism under Suharto's and Marcos's leadership respectively. Anti-communist repression eliminated the communist movement in Indonesia and solidified Suharto's rule. In the Philippines, despite strong backing from the United States, Marcos was unable to defeat the NPA, which continued its activities well beyond the end of the Cold War.
Ideas,ideology and cold war politics therefore set the stage for the division of Southeast Asia into communist and non-communist countries. Poor, peasant-based societies provided fertile ground for communism to spread, with their promise of land reform or more equal distribution of wealth.