Australia at Vietnam war
In the years following the end of the Second World War, colonies of the Western Powers throughout Africa and Asia were clamouring for self-determination and nationhood. The means by which they sought to achieve these goals ranged from peaceful negotiation to armed insurrection and protracted revolutionary warfare. The independence movements were likewise diverse. They were not all communist, although communists actively involved themselves in most of the "wars of liberation", forming blocs within other movements where they did not have the strength to stand alone. Some movements were purely nationalist, of no particular political colour. Some were even elitist, representing the interests of a privileged caste. Nor were they united in their common goal, but were frequently divided into rival factions, split along political, religious, ethnic (or tribal) or special interest lines. Even after independence was achieved, the new nations were wracked by bitter and internecine conflicts between such factions.The colours of political maps changed as these emerging nations either retained or repudiated old allegiances and declared new ones, such as to the World Communist Movement. Nowhere was this trend more evident than in the region
In 1955, Diem moved against the Hoa Hao sect and the Binh Xuyen, who maintained regional autonomy with private armies. The Binh Xuyen were driven into the swamps of the Rung Sat and the Hoa Hao forces were scattered. The Cao Dai sect, having been bribed to stand aside during the campaign, was now isolated and its 30,000 strong army was integrated with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN). The coalition between the Liberal and Country parties which came to power in December 1949 under Prime Minister R G Menzies followed a generally coherent and consistent foreign policy during its 23 years tenure of office. Two lessons of the Second World War had made a profound impression on their policy-making decisions. One was that the geopolitics of Asia, particularly South-East Asia, was of more importance to Australia than Europe or the Middle-East. The other was that the United States was the only power with the resources and the propensity to ensure the security of the Pacific area and assist Australia in protecting her territory from aggression. It is not a just comment to say with the wisdom of hindsight that the domino theory was patently false in that the communist success in the former states of Indo-China did not give any perceptible impetus to the communist party in Thailand, and that the international communist movement was therefore a chimera. World domination by communism was a declared aim of the communist powers and promoting and assisting "wars of liberation" were the means of achieving it. In the '50's, communism was aggressive and ready to take advantage of any perceived weakness or power vacuum. By the 70's they too had suffered from attrition, their energy and resources were depleted and their common purpose was fragmented.
Some topics in this essay:
Viet Minh,
South-East Asia,
Africa Asia,
Australian Regiment,
Australia CPA,
South Vietnam,
Service Act,
Binh Xuyen,
National Service,
Singapore Malaya,
viet minh,
south vietnam,
ho chi,
ho chi minh,
south-east asia,
chi minh,
hoa hao,
binh xuyen,
cao dai,
world war,
national service,
bien dien phu,
cao dai hoa,
liberation army pla,
dai hoa hao,
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Approximate Word count = 3628
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)
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