The reason for and importance of domestic politics, great power alliances, and foreign policy makers in the involvement of Australia in the four post World War II Asian conflicts.

Essay by studcentUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, December 2009

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This essay will discuss domestic politics, great power alliances, and foreign policy makers and their importance in the involvement of Australia in the four post World War II Asian conflicts. It will be shown that the most important foreign policy makers during the years of the Malayan Emergency and the Korean War between 1948 and 1960 were the Labor Minister for External Affairs, Herbert Evatt and Prime Minister Chifley who created the foundations for closer and more independent relationships between Australia and Asia. They were followed by the newly elected Liberal Country Party Prime Minister Robert Menzies and Ministers for External Affairs, Percy Spender in 1949, who were responsible for the Colombo Plan in 1950 and for the forward defence policy with the ANZUS pact and Minister for External Affairs, Richard Casey, who was responsible for the SEATO pact. During the Malaysian/Indonesian 'Konfrontasi' between 1963 and 1966, Prime Minister Menzies and Ministers for External Affairs, Sir Garfield Barwick and Paul Hasluck were significant for their contribution to Australia's diplomatic relations with Indonesia and Asia.

Australia's participation in the Vietnam War occurred between 1962 and 1972 and again Prime Minister Menzies and Sir Garfield Barwick were the prominent figures, followed by Liberal Country Party Prime Ministers, Harold Holt and John Gorton and later when the Labor Party won the 1972 election, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, when he withdrew the remaining Australian troops from Vietnam.

The Malayan Emergency (1948 - 1960)The Malayan Emergency began in 1948 with an uprising of the Malayan Communist Party caused by Britain's post World War II lack of recognition of the Malaysian Communist Party as a legitimate political force. It had waged a guerrilla war against Japanese occupation forces in World War II and after the defeat of the Japanese, the Malaysian Communist Party had high expectations...