Britain, Southeast Asia and the Onset of the Cold War, 1945–1950

by Nicholas Tarling

• ISBN13: 9780521632614
• ISBN10: 0521632617
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-10-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This detailed study throws light on the evolution of British policy in South-east Asia in the turbulent post-war period. Through extensive archival research and insightful analysis of the British mindset and official policy, Tarling demonstrates that South-east Asia was perceived as a region consisting of mutually co-operating new states, rather than a fragmented mass. The book covers the immediate post-war period until the Colombo plan and the outbreak of hostilities in Korea. A companion volume to Tarling's Britain, Southeast Asia and the Onset of the Pacific War, it finds parallels between Britain's approach to the threat of Japan and its approach to the threat of communism. It also shows that the British sought to shape US involvement, in part by involving other Commonwealth countries, especially India. This is a major contribution to the diplomatic and political history of South-east Asia.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii	(2)
List of abbreviations	ix	(2)
Maps	xi
1 Wartime Plans for Post-war Southeast Asia, 1942-1945	1	(50)
Britain's place in the world	1	(8)
The Burma White Paper of 17 May 1945	9	(8)
The Malayan Union concept	17	(4)
The Borneo take-over proposal	21	(1)
The restoration of relations with Siam	22	(15)
The return of the French to Indo-China	37	(3)
Cooperation with the Dutch	40	(3)
The liberation of the Philippines	43	(2)
The coordination of British policy	45	(6)
2 Southeast Asia after the Japanese Surrender, 1945-1946	51	(80)
The Third Force concept	51	(3)
The Special Commissioner	54	(8)
Dorman-Smith and the AFPFL	62	(15)
General Gracey and the Viet Minh	77	(10)
Troops and talks in Indonesia	87	(18)
Malay opposition	105	(3)
The Anglo-Siamese Treaty	108	(20)
Destruction and reconstruction in the Philippines	128	(3)
3 The Re-establishment of Colonial Regimes in Southeast Asia, 1946	131	(54)
Regionalism and nationalism	131	(2)
Lord Killearn's mission	133	(1)
The strikes in Burma	134	(17)
The clash in Tonkin	151	(9)
The Linggadjati agreement	160	(13)
The Anglo-Malay negotiations	173	(2)
The anti-cession movement in Sarawak	175	(2)
Negotiating a treaty with the Philippines	177	(3)
Thai rice	180	(5)
4 Concession and Conflict, 1947	185	(78)
The crises of 1947	185	(3)
The Commissioner-General	188	(6)
The independence of Burma	194	(15)
The Federation of Malaya	209	(2)
The first Dutch `police action'	211	(25)
Moutet and Bollaert	236	(9)
The return of Pibun	245	(9)
The Philippines and North Borneo	254	(9)
5 The Impact of Communism, 1948	263	(52)
Western Union	263	(4)
Imperialism and communism	267	(3)
The advance of Chinese communism	270	(2)
Instability in Burma	272	(8)
The second Dutch `police action'	280	(15)
The recognition of Pibun	295	(6)
The Baied' Along accords	301	(8)
The Sulu heirs	309	(1)
The Malayan Emergency	309	(6)
6 Commonwealth and Colombo, 1949-1950	315	(98)
India and the United States	315	(27)
Aid for Burma	342	(15)
The Round Table agreement on Indonesia	357	(16)
The recognition of the Bao Dai regime in Vietnam	373	(24)
Thai cooperation	397	(5)
Optimism in Malaya and the Baguio initiative	405	(5)
The Philippines and the Baguio initiative	405	(5)
Concluding remarks	410	(3)
Personalia	413	(2)
Notes	415	(56)
Bibliography	471	(8)
Index	479