Bill Niebler, age 13, of Cleveland, Ohio, for his question:

WHICH ARE THE "FAR EAST" COUNTRIES?

Far East is a term used for the easternmost region of Asia. According to the United States Department of State, the Far East includes China, Japan, Korea and eastern Siberia. But it is also common practice to extend the term Far East to include Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Most of the world's natural rubber comes from the Far East. Other important resources include iron ore, coal, tin and tungsten.

Rice is the chief crop in the Far East. Many farmers grow tea bushes, which take little space and yield a large crop. Also, a large part of the world's.spices comes from islands in the Far East.

The countries of the Far East vary greatly in geography. Japan, Korea and China have temperate climates. As one nears the Equator south of China, the climate becomes increasingly tropical.

Much of the Far East is mountainous and most of the people live on shore coastal plains or in the great plains of the Hwang, Yangtze and Si Kiang rivers.