This study of the final stage of British colonial involvement in South East Asia begins with the arrival of British troops in Indonesia as liberators in 1945-6 and culminates with the 1963-6 period of confrontation between Malaysia and Indonesia.

Brunei has long been associated with massive oil resources and the stability that its wealth can guarantee. But little is known of the revolt of 1962 that might have changed the fortunes of the sultanate and the fate of Southeast Asia. In theory, Brunei is a constitutional sultanate, but in practice it is an absolute monarchy. Since the 1962 rebellion, a state of emergency has been in force and the Sultan has ruled by decree. It is a small state in a region dominated by the superpower of China and its size is a significant factor in determining the country's policy towards defence and security - territorially, politically and economically.This is the first comprehensive history of the Brunei Rebellion, which was the trigger for the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation of the 1960s and of critical importance in understanding the history of the region. Harun Abdul Majid explores the turmoil throughout Southeast Asia that was the backdrop to the rebellion and analyses how Brunei not only survived but actually emerged from this turbulent period as a stronger and more coherent political state. Among other issues, he asks: how did events affect the position of the Sultan and the people of Brunei? How did the relationship with the United Kingdom evolve? And what happened next?The revolt of 1962 was a small, armed uprising in support of a Borneo Federation consisting of Brunei, Sarawak and North Borneo. It opposed the Malaysian Federation, which was seen as a buttress of British and Western imperial interest. In a period of great tension between the West and the Communist world, China viewed the rebellion as a national liberation war and it was quickly suppressed by the British Emergency Force. But although the rebellion itself was short-lived, the consequences for the region's international relations within Asia and with the West - especially given Brunei's emergence as a significant oilproducer - were far-reaching.

Singapore gained independence in 1965, a city-state in a world of nation-states. Yet its long and complex history reaches much farther back. Blending modernity and tradition, ideologies and ethnicities, a peculiar set of factors make Singapore what it is today. In this thematic study of the island nation, Michael D. Barr proposes a new approach to understand this development. From the pre-colonial period through to the modern day, he traces the idea, the politics and the geography of Singapore over five centuries of rich history. In doing so he rejects the official narrative of the so-called 'Singapore Story'. Drawing on in-depth archival work and oral histories, Singapore: A Modern History is a work both for students of the country's history and politics, but also for any reader seeking to engage with this enigmatic and vastly successful nation.

For those interested in the assassination of JFK, the untold story of Indonesia, gold, JFK, Allen Dulles, the CIA, and secret military coups. Two of the most fascinating figures in history, John F. Kennedy, thirty-fifth president of the United States, and Allen Dulles, our nation’s longest-serving CIA director, often clashed over intelligence issues and national security. However, one such conflict has remained in the shadows until now. JFK vs. Allen Dulles: Battleground Indonesia takes reader to the vast archipelago 3350 miles wide where this secret showdown occurred. In 1936, an Allen Dulles-established company discovered the world's largest gold deposit in remote Netherlands New Guinea. In 1962, President Kennedy intervened, and Netherlands New Guinea was added to President Sukarno's Indonesia. Neither Sukarno nor JFK was aware of the gold, since Dulles had not informed Kennedy. Dulles planned a complicated and ruthless CIA regime-change strategy to seize control not only of Indonesia itself, but also of its vast resources, including the gold. This strategy included a push to start Malaysian Confrontation. Yet Kennedy's plan to visit Jakarta in early 1964 would have sunk Dulles' master plan, which included the destruction of the Indonesian communist party as a wedge to split Moscow and Beijing. Only an assassin's bullet put an end to Kennedy’s plan of peace. Did Allen Dulles arrange for JFK to be killed to save his plan and his gold? Was his coup for gold successful with JFK out of the picture? Using archival records as a basis, Greg Poulgrain adds word-of-mouth evidence from those people who were directly involved—such as Dean Rusk and others who worked with President Kennedy and Allen Dulles at the time; or the person who was with Michael Rockefeller when he mysteriously disappeared in West New Guinea during this whole affair.

The military is one of the few institutions that cut across the divides of Indonesian society. As it continues to play a critical part in determining Indonesia's future, the military itself is undergoing profound change. The authors of this book examine the role of the military in politics and society since the fall of President Suharto in 1998. They present several strategic scenarios for Indonesia, which have important implications for U.S.-Indonesian relations, and propose goals for Indonesian military reform and elements of a U.S. engagement policy.