Vietnam WarEssay Preview: Vietnam WarReport this essayAustralias involvement in the Vietnam War has been given many thoughts into why we became involved into it. Some examples of these reasons are the fear of communism and the domino effect, the forward defence policy and containment, and The ANZUS and SEATO then also the concerns over Indonesia.
The Fear of Communism overtaking Australia was one of the greatest concerns. The Vietnam War was a struggle between nationalist forces attempting to unify the country of Vietnam under a communist government and the United States attempting to prevent the spread of communism. America, Australia and other nationalist country forces were afraid it would overtake their country. People soon believed that the Domino Effect was a prediction that took place. The Domino Effect policy in place to predict which countries would fall in a domino like effect over communism. Australia saw this Domino Effect would collapse the countries bordering Vietnam.
The Forward Defence Policy was another great concern to Australia being involved in the Vietnam War. The Forward Defence Policy was Australias dominant defence policy between 1972 and 1997. The policy was focused on the defence of continental Australia against external attack. Under this policy the Australian Defence Force was tailored to defending Australia rather than developing capabilities to operate outside Australian territory. The Defence of Australia (DOA) policy was adopted after the previous policy of “forward defence” was discredited in the public eye by Australias involvement in the Vietnam War. The policy was developed during the 1970s and early 1980s before being formalised in the “Dibb Report” in 1986. But, Containment was another policy that United States used to stop the spread of communism. Containment was a United States policy to prevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China, Korea, Africa, and Vietnam.
Alliances were soon formed over the Vietnam War between Australia and United States and New Zealand, this was called ANZUS. The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is the military alliance which binds Australia and New Zealand and, separately, Australia and the United States to co-operate on defence matters in the Pacific Ocean area, though today the treaty is understood to relate to attacks worldwide. The treaty itself was not a source of debate for 30 years, though in this period New Zealand and Australia committed forces to the Malayan Emergency and subsequently the ANZUS nations fought together in the Vietnam War. As part of the United Nations deployment, New Zealand and Australia had earlier fought alongside the United States in the Korean War. Also, the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was
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to be completed in the US in 1999. This is an important step forward. We were able establish the security alliance at the Peace and Prosperity in Asia (PRACOKA) summit in 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia. In addition, the Australian and New Zealand Security Treaty became a Source of Cooperation Agreement in 2006. This will continue to be an important source for New Zealand Security in Asia during the first half of next year, as we plan to move to the next phase in the ASEAN Summit. Our work at the Peace and Prosperity summit will continue, and will extend into the next few years. It is important to understand that the two navies have met in a number of ways, though in some ways we will still have to overcome differences in some regard of our own. It is also important to understand that New Zealand has met with its Indian counterpart on a number of occasions, such as during the peace process in the Jammu and Kashmir region in the West Bengal region of India, where the US was a partner of the Indian government in this and related affairs, and in Sri Lanka. We also met two former President-elect in the Rajya Sabha. In the same region, New Zealand has not met with our Indian delegation, and the relationship between Australia and New Zealand may have changed as time went on. The Indian side took to the streets of Jakarta to demonstrate the importance of sharing the experience that occurred in this context. Our efforts at peace have not improved, as India and New Zealand have both sought constructive differences that have yet to be resolved. However, Australia’s role is continuing to rise, and New Zealand is continuing to grow. It is our view that all parties can use the experience and relationships created while at peace to advance the interests of both countries. The United States stands at the center of this challenge and is willing to play the lead role from this side, and the United Nations will ensure the continued success of this approach. We have many responsibilities, including making our share of security arrangements with the countries of origin a priority for all other parties. Our success as an Alliance is based on our commitment to the principles of peace, security and cooperation, and that includes respect for all of the other parties engaged in the region by our side, and the obligations and responsibilities of those governments. We have also strengthened our commitment to co-operate for peaceful purposes, and that includes continuing our commitment to working together with our international partners on various security issues. That includes ensuring the safety and security of our citizens, protecting maritime security and keeping order in Asia. It includes our common interest in maintaining security in the region in a coordinated manner, and that includes working with regional partners on the implementation of the treaty. New Zealand, the United States and all other Parties will seek good-faith efforts to carry out and continue these tasks, including engaging with the states that have an interest in peace, security and cooperation. In doing so, we will ensure that the process of negotiating a secure region is followed by all parties engaged in this process who will be subject to appropriate government control. For example, we will promote the efforts of Australia and New Zealand, and the establishment of a Joint Security Coordination Group with relevant governments of Asia, to establish clear objectives over the next couple of years, including the exercise of diplomatic, security and regional responsibility. We will work together on national security issues, as