This paper aims to compile and evaluate the information on the population of Southeast Asia in the Mid-nineteenth century appearing in the Journal of the Indian Archiperago and Eastern Asia, which was published from 1847 to 1860 in Singapore. The journal contains considerable numbers of population figures for the pre-census period, reflecting the people's and the editor's interests in the general situation surounding Singapore in this period. The information on population covers Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, the Straits Settlements, Java, Bali, Lombok, Sulawesi, Borneo, and other parts of insular Southeast Asia.
 The general tendency of the population counts of insular Southeast Asia in this period by the Europeans is toward underestimation. This is especially true for the inland areas of the larger islands, which were remote from the European sphere of influence. Populations of the small islands located on commercial routes are reported relatively accurately or even overestimated. Populations of the European settlements are sometimes overestimated and their growth rates tends to be exaggerated. Underestimation of native populations by the Europeans is to be expected, but despite this bias it is clear that the population density in insular Southeast Asia was small enough to attract planters and settlers.

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The diplomatic recognition extended to Ho Chi Minh's Vietminh Regime by Communist China and Soviet Russia in January 1950 had worldwide repercussions which were felt not only in Indochina but also in East Asia. The Western powers at that time, especially America, quickly reacted to this recognition, which they considered to be definite evidence of the monolithic unity of Sino-Russian-Vietminh communists. It was also thought to be a reflection of the intention to expand communist influence throughout Southeast Asia. The Franco-Vietminh War, which had began as a colonial war, was thus transformed into a part of the Cold War.
 But some western observers even at that time doubted whether the “friendly” Sino-Russian-Vietminh relationship manifested publicly by communist side was indeed monolithic. This article examines the truth of the “friendly” Sino-Russian-Vietminh relationship established in 1950, which has not been fully discussed in spite of its historical significance in both the Franco-Vietminh War and the Cold War.

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Since the mid-nineteenth century, the resource frontier in peninsular Malaysia has been converted into agricultural land on a large scale and has attracted a great number of people of various socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds. Such an expansion of human habitat in peninsular Malaysia has engendered various important societal and academic problems associated with the social and economic development of the country. This study is fundamentally concerned with the ecological and social relations embodied in agricultural land development in the resource frontier in peninsular Malaysia and their historical changes with specific reference to the local society of Rengit, in Batu Pahat district, Johor State. The analytical focus is placed upon: (1) the adaptive process of individual villagers, groups of individuals, and local society as a whole to the changing local ecosystem and wider political economy; (2) the degree of association and integration among villagers whose socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds seem to vary to some extent. The description and analysis are carried out by integrating the biophysical and human elements of the above issues into a conceptual framework of cultural-political ecology, which pays attention to power relations, social relations, and conflicts over resource management in the specific ecological setting.
  Since the beginning of this century, a large amount of new agricultural land has been developed in lowland Johor along the west coast, of which the area studied is a part. This has been mainly promoted by Javanese and other Indonesians. Chinese traders and farmers, although few in number, also play a significant role in the dynamics of the local society. This paper is structured around a brief case study of a Javanese landlord and the management of his 120-acre estate, which is expected to contribute to elucidating the complex web of interactions within and beyond the local society. Firstly, the history, ecology, and socioeconomy of the area studied is outlined at two levels, state and local society. A detailed description of the landlord is also given. Secondly, the changes in oil palm and coconut farming are analyzed in relation to the local ecology and economy. Thirdly, centering on the selected landlord, the process of land acquisition by individual smallholders is examined based on materials obtained from interviews and a survey of historical documents including official land records. Finally, by examining the organization and social background of estate workers, the importance of the varied social and political relations among those involved in estate farming is discussed.

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The mangrove forest occurring in the Apar Bay, Tanah Grogot is typical of the luxuriant mangrove forest developed in the coastal zone of East Kalimantan province. It has been declared a nature reserve and has an estimated area of about 128,000 ha. This mangrove forest consists mainly of pure stands of Avicennia officinalis L. in the seaward zone and Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C. B. Robins in the landward zone, both of which grow on similar substrates. Soil samples from pure Avicennia and Ceriops stands were analyzed in terms of their physical and chemical properties. All soils examined were weakly acidic, high in organic matter and low in available phosphorus. They were also characterized by high bulk density and moderate CEC (cation exchange capacity). The soils covered by the dominant species of Avicennia contained less sand and more silt than those covered by Ceriops. Generally, the soils covered by Avicennia were higher in pH (4.83±0.38 in H₂O), CEC (23.72±0.70 meq/100g dry soil), exchangeable cation and NH₄-N (453.705±1.031ppm), and lower in organic matter (6.81±0.14%) than those covered by Ceriops. The results suggest that Avicennia officinalis L. and Ceriops tagal (Perr.) C. B. Robins grow well in their present substrates, as shown by their high biomass and stand density per 100m².

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