Ethnic Chinese were subject to much local animosity arising out of their dominant positions in the local economies, a sentiment that was fuelled by nationalist resentment at their role during the colonial era. They were also vulnerable to rapacious officials. The advent of the PRC raised suspicions about their fundamental loyalties. The PRC leader were not always sensitive to their predicament, as from time to time they tended to refer to them all as fellow descendants of the Yellow Emperor. Yet, as the patrimonial power, the PRC was often at a loss to help them. Matters were not helped by the fact that some of the local insurgent Communist Party membership, such as that of Malaya, was made up primarily of ethnic Chinese. Thus, upon independence in 1957, the Federal Government of Malaya concluded a defence treaty with Britain and it shunned polite noises from Beijing. Nevertheless it carefully avoided establishing military ties with the United States and it stayed out of SEATO. Neither Thailand nor the Philippines were persuaded to open relations with Beijing. Yet the main effort of Beijing during the Bandung years was directed in the vain attempt to persuade these countries to forgo their alliances with the West in favour of better relations with their fellow Asians in Beijing. Perhaps China’s best relationship in Southeast Asia in this period was with Burma. It was the first regional state to establish diplomatic relations and its foreign policy adhered closely to the practice of non-alignment.