After making the differences between Indochina and Indonesia clear, Anderson notes that there were nevertheless similar ethnic tensions in Indonesia as in Indochina. This is in part his way of reminding the reader that historical events are reliant on various factors and are seldom black-and-white. And it is also a way of pointing to the relatively greater importance of the outside forces that promoted coherent political units (at first, colonies, which made nations possible), as opposed to existing internal forces that, while important to a nation’s people, were not initially couched in the vocabulary or ideology of nationalism. Finally, here it is worth recalling the example Anderson cites at the beginning of his book—Vietnam has just invaded Cambodia—which is further evidence that the divisions sown between Vietnam and Cambodia, combined with their splicing into different nations, created lasting rivalry and conflict.