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largest system of island groups in the world, situated SE of Asia and N and NW of Australia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. The archipelago extends from about 20° N of the equator to about 10° S of the equator. It comprises New Guinea, the second largest island in the world; Celebes (Sulawesi); Borneo; the Philippine Islands; the Sunda Islands, which include Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Timor; the Moluccas; and numerous lesser islands. The area of the archipelago is about 2.8 million sq km (about 1.1 million sq mi). All of the islands of the archipelago are mountainous. The highest summit is Puncak Jaya (5030 m/16,503 ft) on the island of New Guinea. Numerous active and extinct volcanoes are scattered throughout the archipelago. With few exceptions, the islands are extremely fertile, well watered, and covered by luxuriant tropical vegetation. Agriculture is the principal industry. The inhabitants of the archipelago belong predominantly to the Malayan and Melanesian racial groups. Besides the Republic of the Philippines, the system encompasses the Republic of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Brunei, and the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah.
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INDONESIA, REPUBLIC OF,
INDONESIA, REPUBLIC OF,. island republic, Southeast Asia, constituting most of the Malay Archipelago and including all of the former Netherlands Indies. The animal life of the Malay Archipelago is representative in . . .
ENCYCLOPEDIA: PHILIPPINES, REPUBLIC OF THE,
Speech: A British colonist of Malay describes the sudden attack by Communist guerillas, while she was home with her husband in their bungalow.
