A Study Of The Australia's Policy Toward The Vietnam War

As a western country in the Asia-Pacific region,the conflict between its geographic position and culture made Canberra's defence priorities differed from those of other traditional European and American countries.Australia always regarded the Asia-Pacific region as its security concerns and had made many efforts to ensure the regional and its mainland security.Before the outbreak of the Pacific War,Australia had placed its defence and security under the protection of the Great Britain for a long time.During this period,although Australia felt a little anxious about the changes in the situation of the Far East,and the reduction of British defence forces in the Pacific area,Canberra still gave an absolute trust to the British Navy.However,the fall of Singapore in 1942 meant that the Britain's military power in the Far East had collapsed.As a result,Canberra decided to move beyond the limitations of the traditional imperial defence framework.After the end of World War ?,Australia,with the primary goal of safeguarding its own security,actively sought collective security in the Asia-Pacific area,Southeast Asia was the focus of Australia's post-war defence policy.Finally,through a series of collective defence agreements,such as the ANZUS,the SEATO and the ANZAM,Australia had found the important defence and geographical support for its so-called "Defence Forward" strategy,and also turn the Canberra's road to the Vietnam War.Australia was one of the western countries that actively supported the US military operations during the Vietnam War.Meanwhile,Australia also was the only country that provided the army,navy and air force support to the South Vietnam besides the United States.This paper argues that the Australia's participation in Vietnam War should not be viewed as a sudden and isolated event,but as a continuation of Canberra's aims for the regional defence security after the World War ? and the concrete practice of its "Defence Forward" strategy.Australia's policy toward the Vietnam War passed through three phases:intervention,dispatched troops and withdrawal.In different periods,Canberra was faced different situations,and these changes had an important impact on Canberra's policy toward the Vietnam War.Generally speaking,under the influence of the "Defence Forward'' strategy and the Domino Theory,Australia began to intervene in Indochina affairs.At the same time,with the shrinking of the Britain's pacific defence,in order to get the security assurance of the United States in the Asia-Pacific region,Australia followed the pace of the United States,and its support for Vietnam gradually expanded from politics and economy to military operations.In April 1965,the Menzies government announced that it would send ground troops to South Vietnam.Since then,Australia's commitment to South Vietnam gradually reached the upper limit of its military capabilities.In the later part of the Vietnam War,with the deterioration of the battlefield situation,the rise of the anti-war movement and the changes of America's Vietnam policy,Australia was also forced to adjust its policy toward the Vietnam War.In 1972,the coalition government,which had been in power for 23 years after the World War II,was defeated by the Labour Party in the Federal Election.The Labour government pursued a relatively independent foreign policy and finally ended the Australia's Vietnam War.After the end of the Vietnam War,Australia's foreign and defence policy also turn into a relatively independent and mature stage.