Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia that is located to the south of East Asia, east of South Asia, west of Polynesia, and north of Australia. Southeast Asia's countries are closely-linked through their languages, religions, and ancestry groups, with Malays spreading from Malaysia to Thailand, Indonesia, Brunei, Borneo, and the Philippines, creating a large community overseas. The part of Southeast Asia located in Asia proper is predominantly Buddhist, while the Indonesian islands and Borneo are mostly Muslim and the Philippines and East Timor are mostly Catholic. Islam was introduced to the region by Arab traders (including Hadhramis from Yemen, a major Muslim ancestry group in the region), while Christianity was introduced by Spain and Portugal during their -colonization of the region.