India

India dominates the great peninsula that extends to the south of the Asian continent, known as South Asia. The vast body of water that washes the shores of the subcontinent, the Indian Ocean, forms the connecting link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and was India's principal means of contact with Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia's focal position between India and China determined its relationship with these two great centers. These relationships differed principally because of geography. In the case of India, the formidable mountain barrier meant that there was no direct overland link between it and Southeast Asia. The sea therefore provided the means for the spread of Indian culture through trading contacts, resulting in the great Indian acculturation of Southeast Asia.