Indochina, or the Indochinese Peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly east of India, south of China. The word has French origins, Indochine, and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory to bordering countries.[citation needed]

Historically, the countries of Mainland Southeast Asia received cultural influence from China and India, but to varying degrees. Some Southeast Asian cultures, such as that of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand are influenced mainly by the culture of India with a smaller influence from the culture of China. Others, such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore, received a much larger influence from China, with only minor cultural influences from India, largely via the Champa civilization that Vietnam conquered during its southward expansion.

Indochina comprises the territory of the following countries:

    In strict sense, only the former colonial French Indochina:
Cambodia
Laos
Vietnam