During the eighteenth century, large numbers of Chinese laborers came to work in mines in the Northern Uplands of Vietnam. However, few investigations have been conducted on the responses of native chieftains or the local population to the social fluctuations in this area. Therefore, this article focuses on the survival strategies of native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region.

Investigation of correspondence between the Lê–Trịnh government and native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region reveals that under this government’s control, native chieftains were tasked with collecting taxes and drafting soldiers in each commune. They were permitted to receive a portion of these tax revenues as salary and collect various fees via taxation, causing them to perceive these roles as their own vested rights. Meanwhile, during the mid-eighteenth century, the Lạng Sơn region was involved in extensive disturbances that destabilized the native chieftains’ political and economic bases. Given this background, the Lê–Trịnh government frequently sanctioned the aforementioned rights of native chieftains by issuing official documentation, while the chieftains themselves also requested the government to issue official documents confirming their rights. In fact, they possessed these documents until the colonial era or transcribed them in their genealogies, demonstrating that they recognized them as certifications of their vested rights. Thus, during the eighteenth century, developing relations with the Lê–Trịnh government was a survival strategy for native chieftains in the Lạng Sơn region.

This article discusses the process of negotiation by which the Japanese government reached an agreement on economic and technological cooperation with the Cambodian government, in which both parties eventually decided to build an agricultural laboratory and medical center. In order to strengthen its economy, Cambodia wished to obtain economic aid from Japan while surrendering its right to request reparation for the losses it incurred due to Japan’s invasion during World War II. Japan appreciated the Cambodian goodwill, because establishing a friendly relationship would be meaningful in securing the Japanese return to post-World War II international society. For Japan, moreover, the success of the negotiations with Cambodia would become the best reference case that could dissuade the South Vietnamese and Indonesian governments from claiming “exorbitant” reparation. Yet, the amount of aid that the Cambodians initially expected reduced within a short period of time, as a result of inter-organizational politics within the Japanese government.

Pillar dwellings are a common architectural style in Southeast Asia. On the east coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, locals have lived in pillar dwellings for many years. This paper examines the maintenance system of such dwellings, especially timber piles, which form an essential structural aspect. The analysis was conducted through interviews with locals and evaluations of timber piles’ deterioration. The following observations were noted. Locals built pillar dwellings at the river mouth, and many of them did not own the inland areas. Some dwellings were more than 50 years old and had been passed down through the generations, while others were newly constructed. In all the researched dwellings, local people maintained the timber piles by replacing the deteriorated parts with new ones every few years. They usually used leban (Vitex pinnata. L.)—which grows in the lowland forests—for piles; however, it became difficult for them to obtain leban piles in later years due to the continuing stock shortage. This paper concludes that locals constantly maintain pillar dwellings by using timber pillars. It also suggests that the right to timber utilization by landless people in coastal areas needs to be discussed in future tropical forest management.