Flag of the Philippines

The National Flag of the Philippines (Filipino: Pambansang Watawat ng Pilipinas; also called the Three Stars and a Sun) is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet, and with a white, equilateral triangle at the hoist. In the center of the triangle is a golden-yellow sun with eight primary rays, each representing a Philippine province.[a] At each vertex of the triangle is a five-pointed, golden-yellow star, each of which representing one of the country's three main island groups - Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, albeit, one of the stars originally referred to Panay (the first province outside Luzon to have raised this flag),[9] which recent interpretations call as "as representative of the entire Visayas region".[10]A unique feature of this flag is its ability to indicate a state of war if it is displayed with the red side on top.[11]

Flag of BruneiFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe national flag of Brunei has the crest of Brunei in the centre, on a yellow field. The field is cut by black and white diagonal stripes (parallelograms at an angle).The yellow field represents the sultan of Brunei. In Southeast Asia, yellow is traditionally the color of royalty, and the royal standards of Malaysia and Thailand, and the flag of Sarawak, along with the presidential flag of Indonesia, also use a yellow field.The crest consists of a crescent (symbolising Islam) facing upwards, joined with a parasol (symbolising monarchy), with hands on the sides (signifying the benevolence of the government). On the crescent is the national motto in Arabic: Always render service with God's guidance ( ). Below this is a banner inscribed with Brunei Darussalam (Brunei, the Abode of Peace).The black and white stripes represent Brunei's chief ministers[1] who were once joint-regents and then after the sultan came of age senior advisors: the Pengiran Bendahara (First Minister, symbolised by a slightly thicker white stripe) and the Pengiran Pemancha (Second Minister, governing foreign affairs, symbolised by black).[2][3]

Flag of CambodiaThe national flag of Cambodia (Khmer: Tung-Cheat, "National flag") in its present form was originally adopted in 1948 and readopted in 1993, after elections restored the monarchy.Since around 1850, the Cambodian flag has featured a depiction of Angkor Wat in the center. The current flag, with a blue border and red central (the stripes are in the ratio 1:2:1) was adopted following Cambodia's independence in 1948. It was used until October 9, 1970, when a new flag was introduced for Lon Nol's Khmer Republic that lasted until the takeover of the Khmer Rouge in 1975. The subsequent state of Democratic Kampuchea, which existed from 1975 to 1979, used a red flag with a three-towered Angkor Wat design retained in yellow. The People's Republic of Kampuchea was established in 1979, after the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia.The Kampuchean National United Front for National Salvation (FUNSK) revived the flag adopted by the Khmer Issarak in the days of anti-French resistance for the new state. This flag had the same color pattern as the DK flag, but with a yellow five-towered Angkor Wat silhouette. When the PRK renamed itself as "State of Cambodia" (SOC) in 1989, the flag's lower half became blue. The UNTAC flag was used during the 1992-1993 transitional period along with the flag of the SOC within Cambodia.In 1993, the 1948 Cambodian flag was readopted. The current Cambodian flag, together with that of Afghanistan, hold the distinction of being the only two flags in the world to feature a building in their design. Red and blue are traditional colors of Cambodia.The flag used today is the same as that established in 1948, although since then 5 other designs have been used. Almost all made use of the image of the temple of Angkor Wat in one form or another. This famous temple site, which dates from the 12th century, was built by the Mahidharapura monarchs. It has 5 towers, but these were not always all depicted in the stylised version used on flags. The monarchy was restored in September 1993, the 1948 flag having been readopted in June of that year.

Flag of IndonesiaThe Flag of Indonesia is a simple bicolour with two equal horizontal bands, red (top) and white (bottom) with an overall ratio of 2:3.[1] It was introduced and hoisted in public at the Indonesian Independence declaration ceremony on 17 August 1945 and Independence from the Netherlands on 17 August 1950. The design of the flag has remained the same ever since.The flag is similar to the flag of Poland and flag of Singapore. The flag is identical to the flag of Hesse (a German state) and the flag of Monaco, excluding the ratio. Red represents courage, while white represents purity of intent. The flags colours represent blood (red) and sprit (white).The Naval Jack of Indonesia is reserved for sole use by the Indonesian Navy. It flies from every active Indonesian war ship mast.[2] The design of the jack is described as nine alternating stripes of red and white. It is nicknamed Ular-ular Perang (War Pennant or literally "War Snakes"), probably due to the stripes' design. The naval jack dates to the age of Majapahit Empire. The Majapahit Empire, which was renowned for its great maritime strength, used to fly similar jacks on its vessels.[3]Flag of LaosThe flag consists of three horizontal strips, middle blue strip is twice the height of the top and bottom red stripes. In the middle is a white disc, the diameter of the disc is 0.8 times the height of the blue stripe. The flag ratio is 2:3. The national flag of Laos was adopted in 1975, when the country became a people's republic. It is the only flag of a currently Communist country that does not use the five-pointed star as an emblem.This flag replaced the original flag of Laos, which was red, with a triple-headed white elephant on a pedestal beneath a parasol. This expressed the ancient name of the country, "Land of a Million Elephants," and dated from the 19th century. From 1953 onward the royal government waged war with the Pathet Lao, whose flag was blue with a white disk and red borders at the top and bottom.From 1973-1975, the Pathet Lao formed part of the government coalition, before assuming power directly and prompting the abdication of the king. Their flag was adopted as the national flag. In the center is a white disk symbolizing the unity of the people under the leadership of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and the country's bright future. It is also said to represent a full moon against the Mekong River. The red stripes stand for the blood shed by the people in their struggle for freedom, and the blue symbolizes their prosperity.

Flag of MalaysiaThe flag of Malaysia, also known as the Jalur Gemilang (Malay for "Stripes of Glory"),[1] comprises a field of 14 alternating red and white stripes along the fly and a blue canton bearing a crescent and a 14-point star known as the Bintang Persekutuan (Federal Star). The 14 stripes, of equal width, represent the equal status in the federation of the 13 member states and the federal government, while the 14 points of the star represent the unity between these entities.[2] The crescent represents Islam, the country's official religion; the blue canton symbolises the unity of the Malaysian people; the yellow of the star and crescent is the royal colour of the Malay rulers.[3]In blazon, the Malaysian flag is described as: "A banner Gules, seven bars Argent; the canton Azure charged with decrescent and mullet of fourteen points Or." This means "a red flag with seven horizontal white stripes; the upper-left (hoist) quarter is blue with a yellow waning crescent (i.e. horns pointing to sinister) and a yellow 14-pointed star."

Flag of Burma

Burma, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, adopted a new state flag on 21 October 2010 to replace the former flag in use since 1974. The new flag was introduced along with implementing changes to the country's name, which were laid out in the 2008 Constitution.The design of the flag has three horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red with a five-pointed white star in the middle. The three colours of the stripes are meant to symbolise solidarity, peace and tranquility, and courage and decisiveness.[3]

Flag of SingaporeThe national flag of Singapore was first adopted in 1959, the year Singapore became self-governing within the British Empire. It was reconfirmed as the national flag when the Republic gained independence on 9 August 1965. The design is a horizontal bicolour of red above white, overlaid in the canton (upper-left quadrant) by a white crescent moon facing a pentagon of five small white five-pointed stars. The elements of the flag denote a young nation on the ascendant, universal brotherhood and equality, and national ideals.Vessels at sea do not use the national flag as an ensign. Merchant vessels and pleasure craft fly a civil ensign of red charged in white with a variant of the crescent and stars emblem in the centre. Non-military government vessels such as coast guard ships fly a state ensign of blue with the national flag in the canton, charged with an eight-pointed red and white compass rose in the lower fly. Naval warships fly a naval ensign similar to the state ensign, but in white with a red compass rose emblem.Rules defined by the Singapore Arms and Flag and National Anthem Act govern the use and display of the national flag. These have been relaxed to allow citizens to fly the flag from vehicles during national holidays and from homes at any time of the year.

Flag of VietnamThe flag of Vietnam, or "red flag with a gold star" (c sao vng), was designed in 1940 and used during an uprising against French rule in southern Vietnam that year[verification needed]. The background was inspired by the red flag, used by the international communist movement since the Paris Commune of 1871. Red symbolizes revolution and blood. The star represents five main classes in Vietnamese society including intellectuals, farmers, workers, businessman and militaries.[1]The flag was used by the Viet Minh, a communist-led organization created in 1941 to oppose Japanese occupation. At the end of World War II, Viet Minh leader Ho Chi Minh proclaimed Vietnam independent and signed a decree on September 5, 1945 adopting the flag as the flag of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.[2] The DRV became the government of North Vietnam in 1954 following the Geneva Accords. The flag was modified on November 30, 1955 to make the edges of the star sharper.[3] Until the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, South Vietnam used a yellow flag with three red stripes. The red flag of North Vietnam was adopted as the flag of the new unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam in 1976.[4

Flag of ThailandFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The flag of the Kingdom of Thailand (Thai: , Thong Trairong, meaning "tricolour flag) shows five horizontal stripes in the colours red, white, blue, white and red, with the central blue stripe being twice as wide as each of the other four. The design was adopted on 28 September 1917, according to the royal decree issued by Rama VI that year.The colours are said to stand for nation-religion-king, an unofficial motto of Thailand,[1] red for the land and people, white for Theravada Buddhism and blue for the monarchy, the last having been the auspicious colour of Rama VI. As the king had declared war on Germany that July, some note the flag now bore the same colours as those of Britain, France, and the United States .[2]