Imperial Outposts and the War Beyond: Singapore, Hong Kong and the British Empire’s Land Force Contribution to the Korean War

ABSTRACT

Histories of the British Empire’s strategic outposts in the Far East have traditionally focused on their traumatic loss to the Japanese adversary during the Second World War. Only in the past decade-and-a-half have historians begun to examine the post-Second World War importance of these outposts to the continued defence and security of Britain’s empire in the Far East. In taking this line of historical enquiry still further, the article examines how Singapore and Hong Kong were used to project British military power, specifically army deployments, across the Far East, and far beyond the imperial frontier, in support of Britain’s involvement in the 1950–53 Korean War and therefore in pursuit of the empire’s foreign and defence policy objectives. It adopts an essentially operational analysis to this end, relying on operational and army ‘ground-level’ sources from the records of the Colonial, Foreign, and War Offices at the British National Archives. It uncovers the hidden workings of the mechanisms of imperial military power projection through strategic outposts, which ranged from training to logistical support to the exercise of command and control, and how these mechanisms and outposts were utilised by the British Far Eastern land forces involved in the Korean War. In so doing, the article sheds much valuable and original light on the historical importance of these strategic outposts to imperial defence.

KEYWORDS:

• Singapore
• Hong Kong
• Britain and the Korean War
• strategic outposts of the British Empire
• British imperial security and defence
• imperial networks
• cold war in Southeast Asia
• military logistics

Acknowledgements

This article has been adapted from a Thesis presented to the University of Cambridge in June 2011 in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Historical Studies. The author is indebted to Professor Timothy Harper of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, and Professor David Reynolds of Christ's College, University of Cambridge, for their guidance during the writing of the original MPhil Thesis. The author is also grateful to the staff of the British National Archives, the British Imperial War Museum, the British Library, and the Cambridge University Library, for their assistance during his research. The author would also like to acknowledge the funding, for his university fees and living expenses, provided by the Singapore Ministry of Defence, under the terms of the Defence Merit Scholarship, for the duration of his MPhil course. This article and the author's MPhil Thesis were both prepared and written purely in their author's personal capacity (originally as a graduate student at the University of Cambridge and subsequently as an independent researcher); the research work presented in them is not in any way associated with, representative of, or attributable to the Singapore Ministry of Defence, and is not reflective of the Singapore Ministry of Defence's views or positions. Finally, the author would like to dedicate this article to his maternal grandparents, Mr. Wong Soon Chee and Mdm. Mary Fong, in remembrance of their Godliness, love, kindness, and wisdom.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Tang, Britain’s Encounter, 171; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 59, 68, 87, 107–08, 113.

2. Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 59, 65, 73, 75, 83–85, 110–11; Tanner, ‘A Strong Showing’, 167; Tarling, Britain, Southeast Asia and Onset, 123–25, 335; No. 139, in Hyam, ed., British Documents on the End of Empire (BDEEP), vol. 2, part 2, 307–08; Lee, Outposts of Empire, 10–11; Ovendale, The English-Speaking Alliance, 153; Murfett, In Jeopardy, ch. 3.

3. Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 355–60.

4. Neidpath, The Singapore Naval Base; Hamill, The Strategic Illusion.

5. McIntyre, Rise and Fall, 230.

6. Perras, ‘Our Position in the Far East’; Bell, ‘Our Most Exposed Outpost’.

7. Bartlett, The Long Retreat; Darby, British Defence Policy; Dockrill, British Defence since 1945; Carver, Tightrope Walking.

8. Murfett, In Jeopardy; Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation; Gregorian, The British Army.

9. SEASEC 8th Misc Meeting, 3 Aug. 1947, 1A, WO216/226, The National Archives, London (hereafter TNA).

10. No. 335, in Hyam, ed., BDEEP, vol. 2, part 3, 396–97.

11. No. 167, in Hyam, ed., BDEEP, vol. 2, part 2, 391; Louis, ‘Hong Kong’, 1078–79.

12. Tang, Britain’s Encounter, 184.

13. Bayly and Harper, Forgotten Wars, 110–11, 139; Ladd, By Sea, by Land, 539; Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 350–57; Message from CICFES to Secretary of Admiralty, 1/FES/1061/3, 1 Jan. 1949, ADM1/21489, TNA.

14. Gregorian, The British Army, 47, 57; Coates, Suppressing Insurgency, 168; Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 370–75; Note of meeting, 25 Sept. 1945, A.01236/45, and Enclosure ‘A’, C. P. Berthom, 11 Oct. 1945, ADM116/5680, TNA.

15. Gregorian, The British Army, 79–82, 100–01; Louis, ‘Hong Kong’, 1076–77, 1081; No. 167 in Hyam, ed., BDEEP, vol. 2, part 2, 392; No. 335, Hyam, ed., BDEEP, vol. 2, part 3, 396.

16. See Hennessey, Britain’s Korean War, and bibliography.

17. van Creveld, Supplying War, 1.

18. Tarling, Britain, Southeast Asia and Impact; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation.

19. Gregorian, The British Army, 9; Murfett, In Jeopardy.

20. See Jackson, Distant Drums; Stockwell, ‘Approach to a Possible “Transfer”’, 86.

21. Rees, Korea; MacDonald, Korea; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vols. 1 and 2; Alcock, ‘Britain and the Korean War’; Hennessey, Britain’s Korean War, and bibliography; Belmonte, ‘Anglo-American Relations’; Lee, Outposts of Empire, 106; Zhai, Dragon, Lion, and Eagle, 112, 121.

22. Clutterbuck, Riot and Revolution, 71–73; Bayly and Harper, Forgotten Wars, 282; Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats, 54–57; Tsang, Democracy Shelved, 181; 68, CO968/257; 127, 129, CO968/258; Conference of Education Officers, Appendix VIII, CO968/259, TNA.

23. See, for example, 74, 81, CO968/258; 55, CO537/6295, TNA.

24. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, 22.

25. Zhai, Dragon, Lion, and Eagle, 40–42, 105–07; Tang, Britain’s Encounter, 181–82, 187–90; Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats, 214–16; Chi-Kwan, Hong Kong and the Cold War, 94–100; Gregorian, The British Army, 147–48; Share, ‘Soviet Union, Hong Kong’, 16–18.

26. Yan, ‘Limits to Propaganda’, 109; Tang, Britain’s Encounter, 186; Chi-Kwan, Hong Kong and the Cold War, 107–09.

27. Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 142.

28. Tarling, Britain, Southeast Asia and Impact, 70–75; Gregorian, The British Army, 181, 183, 189, 192, 205, 216; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 90; Files F1015/21, FO371/83008, File F1194/1, FO371/83026 and File FZ1193/11, FO371/93075, TNA.

29. Gregorian, The British Army, 184, 188; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 87–89.

30. See correspondence between GHQ FARELF and the British chiefs of staff (hereafter COS) in London in early 1951, in File FZ1193/4, FO371/93075, TNA. It should be noted, however, that the COS felt that the communist air threat was not as severe as assessed by GHQ FARELF.

31. Murfett, In Jeopardy, 144.

32. File FZ10110/89(B), FO371/101229, TNA; Stubbs, Hearts and Minds, 134.

33. Gregorian, The British Army, 182–88, 192, 210–11; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 87–89, 144, 193.

34. 4A, AIR2/10681, COS Committee JPS: Requirement for Airfields in Malaya: Note by Director of Plans, JP(53) Note 6, 18 Dec. 1953, AIR20/9252, TNA; Williams, ‘Korea and the Malayan Emergency’, 59; Murfett, In Jeopardy, 119.

35. Gregorian, The British Army, 170–72, 184, 188–89; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 145–46.

36. Documents dated Dec. 1950 and Sept. 1952, DEFE11/377, TNA; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 94; Gregorian, The British Army, 190, 192–93, 198, 209–15.

37. Stubbs, Hearts and Minds, 147, 156–60, 170–72, 182, 185–86, 208–09, 213–14; Coates, Suppressing Insurgency, 82–83, 95–97, 118–19, 123–26, 146, 149, 170–73; Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats, 245; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 120–31, 144.

38. JP(50)82, DEFE4/33, File FC1193/20, FO371/92299, TNA; Gregorian, The British Army, 142–43.

39. Gregorian, The British Army, 142–43.

40. Files FC1019/41, FC1019/44 and FC1019/46, FO371/92212, TNA.

41. Files FC1192/2, FC1192/4, FC1192/6, FC1192/7, FC1192/9 and FC1192/13, FO371/83397, TNA; Chi-Kwan, Hong Kong and the Cold War, 113–14.

42. File FC1193/20, FO371/92299, TNA.

43. Telegrams dated 11 July 1950 and 5 Dec. 1952, AIR8/1503, TNA.

44. Any Chinese preparation for invading Hong Kong was a matter of weeks, whereas that for attacking Malaya required months of campaigning through Indochina and Siam.

45. File FC1193/20, FO371/92299, TNA.

46. Ibid.

47. Gregorian, The British Army, 153, 156; FC1192/39, FO371/83398, TNA.

48. FC1192/13, FO371/105271, TNA; Gregorian, The British Army, 157–61.

49. Dockrill, British Defence since 1945, 45–46; Grove, Vanguard to Trident, 83–85; Darby, British Defence Policy, 47–48; Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 362.

50. Murfett, In Jeopardy, 118, 131, 138–39; see also Alcock, ‘Britain and the Korean War’, 84–86.

51. Gregorian, The British Army, 169–71, 273–74, n. 109.

52. For further analysis of the RN’s and the RAF’s reliance on the imperial outposts to project naval and air power respectively, see Seah, ‘Singapore, Hong Kong’.

53. No. 14: ‘Minutes of a Meeting of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet held at 10 Downing Street on Thursday, 6 July 1950, at 10am’, DO(50) 12th Meeting [CAB131/8], in Yasamee and Hamilton, eds., Documents on British Policy Overseas, Series II, vol. 4, 40. See also Gregorian, The British Army.

54. Alcock, ‘Britain and the Korean War’, 74–80, 87. See also Files FK1193/12 and FK1193/13, FO371/84150, TNA; Gregorian, The British Army.

55. 58, CAB21/1988, TNA; Alcock, ‘Britain and the Korean War’, 81–83; Gregorian, The British Army, 138–43, 172.

56. Files FK1202/9, FK1202/11, FO371/84159 and Top Secret Personal Message from CICFARELF, 18 Sept. 1950, WO216/350; File FK1202/36, FO371/84161; Files FK1202/59 and FK1202/64, FO371/84162, all TNA; Alcock, ‘Britain and the Korean War’, 81–83; Gregorian, The British Army, 138–43, 172; Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats, 157; Williams, ‘Korea and the Malayan Emergency’, 61–62.

57. Barclay, The First Commonwealth Division, 83–84.

58. 55A, CAB21/1988, TNA.

59. Farrar, ‘What We Achieved’, 5; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 2, Appendix C.

60. Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, 126; Gregorian, The British Army, 141.

61. Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 2, Appendix C; WO379/30, WO379/60 and 10A, WO216/342, TNA.

62. Kemp, The Middlesex Regiment, 349; Eaton, Something Extra, 10, 16; Regimental War Diaries in WO281/1166, WO281/1160, WO281/1244, WO379/70, WO379/44, WO379/63, WO379/31, WO379/37, WO379/54, WO281/506, WO281/454, WO281/532, WO281/459 and WO281/494, TNA; ‘The Welch Regiment in Korea, 1951–1952’, http://www.bkva.co.uk/welch/wlch_kor_1.htm, accessed 25 May 2011.

63. File FK1202/37, FO371/84161; 11A, 15A, WO216/342; File FK1202/19, FO371/84160; WO281/1142, TNA.

64. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct. 1951–31 Mar. 1952’, Appendix D, para. 1a, WO32/20500; ‘J’ Reinforcement Unit, War Diary entries for 12 Feb. 1951, 20 March 1951, 23 April 1951, 4 July 1951 and 14 Aug. 1951, WO281/1197; ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 1, 66, 84, CAB157/18; HMS Unicorn: Report of Proceedings from 2nd December 1950 to 4th January 1951, 4 Jan. 1951, ADM116/6224, all TNA. Farrar, ‘What We Achieved’, 5.

65. ‘J’ Reinforcement Unit, War Diary entry for 11 May 1951, WO281/1197; ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 2, 419, CAB157/19; File FK1224/1, FO371/99628, all TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

66. ‘J’ Reinforcement Unit: War Diary for February 1951, Appendix 7: Draft 70, 12 Feb. 1951, WO281/1197; ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 1, 168, CAB157/18, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 2, 109, 125–36, 138, 214, Appendixes M and P; Carew, The Glorious Glosters, 71–83.

67. Farrar, ‘What We Achieved’, 7; Carew, The Glorious Glosters, 88–93; ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 1, 26, 51, 54–55, 69–70, 80, CAB157/18, TNA.

68. Quoted in Walker, A Barren Place, 30–31.

69. Farrar, ‘What We Achieved’, 5; Carew, Korea, 31–35.

70. Anderson, History of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 179, 191.

71. Man, ‘The Naktong River’, 15, 21.

72. Barclay, First Commonwealth Division, 17–21; Coad, ‘Land Campaign in Korea’, 2; Anderson, History of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 191; Letter from Captain James to Major Hollyer, 11 Dec. 1950, WO308/86, TNA.

73. Eaton, Something Extra, 14–16.

74. Carew, Korea, 31–35.

75. Quarterly Historical Report ending March 1950, WO268/330, TNA.

76. Quarterly Historical Report ending March 1950, Appendix A, WO268/319, TNA.

77. Quarterly Historical Report ending March 1950, WO268/330 and WO268/321, TNA; Anderson, History of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 179–80, 191–92; Carew, Korea, 35–37.

78. Anderson, History of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 179–80.

79. See in contrast ‘1st Bn Royal Fusiliers: Liaison Letter’, Sept. 1952, WO281/454, TNA.

80. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix B, para. 18, WO308/5, TNA; Accession No. 17819, Sound Collection, Imperial War Museum.

81. Moreman, The Army in India, 27, 85–86, 101–03, 122–23, 139, 181; Martin, ‘The Madness at Deolali’, 94.

82. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix B, para. 18, WO308/5, TNA,

83. ‘Historical Record of the 1st Royal Northumberland Fusiliers’, entries for Nov.–Dec. 1951 and Jan.–Feb. 1952, WO305/211, TNA.

84. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix B, para. 21, WO308/5, TNA.

85. Notes from 1st Bn The Royal Ulster Rifles, 26 Jan. 51 to 24 Feb. 51, WO308/46; ‘J’ Reinforcement Unit War Diary entry for 12 Sept. 1951, WO281/1197, TNA.

86. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix A, para. 14g, WO32/20500; ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 April 1953–30 Sep 1953, Appendix A, WO32/15349, TNA.

87. Notes from 1st Bn The Royal Ulster Rifles, 26 Jan. 51 to 24 Feb. 51, WO308/46; ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix A, para. 14a, WO32/20500, TNA.

88. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix A, para. 14d, WO32/20500, TNA.

89. 10A, WO216/342, TNA; Coates, Suppressing Insurgency, 168.

90. Historical notes compiled by CSO’s Branch, HQ BCFK, 31 July 1953, Part 2, paras. 121–23, WO308/22, ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, paras 10, 16, WO216/820, ‘Draft Copy, Q Branch Historical Report’, paras 3–5, WO308/11, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

91. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, 1–2, WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

92. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Annex III to Appendix Q, para. 1f and Enclosure 1, WO32/20500, TNA.

93. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, para. 17c, WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1 Appendix R. A useful comparison and contrast may be drawn against the RFA’s support of the FEF. See Nash, ‘Royal Navy in Korea’.

94. ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 2, 418, CAB157/19, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

95. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, para. 17(c)(iii), WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

96. 10A, WO308/14, ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’ Appendix C, para. 23, WO308/5; ‘The History of the Commonwealth Division in Korea 1950–1956’, vol. 2, 419, CAB157/19, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

97. ‘War Diary for 4 Base Ordnance Depot’, entries for 5 and 11 May 1951, WO281/1176; File FK1224/1, FO371/99628; ‘History of 3 Base Ordnance Depot’, 61–62, WO305/3009, TNA.

98. Share, ‘Soviet Union, Hong Kong’, 16.

99. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, paras 34–35, WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

100. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Annex III to Appendix Q, para. 3, WO308/5, TNA.

101. Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 2, Appendix P.

102. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, para. 22, WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

103. ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, para. 26(c), WO216/820; Files FK1223/1 and FK1223/2, FO371/92840, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

104. 15A, WO308/20, ‘ACANTHUS Maintenance Project’, 6 Oct. 1950, paras 16, 21(d), WO216/820, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

105. Farrar, ‘What We Achieved’, 13.

106. 1A, WO216/340, TNA; Farrar-Hockley, The British Part, vol. 1, Appendix R.

107. ‘Draft Copy, Q Branch Historical Report’, para. 6, WO308/11, TNA.

108. 10A, WO308/14, TNA.

109. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix C, para. 10, WO308/5, TNA.

110. ‘War Office Brief for the Minister of Defence’s Visit to Korea’, 5 June 1952, Annex L, ‘clothing, ammunition, vehicles and equipment’, para. 10, WO308/68, TNA.

111. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix C, para. 12, WO308/5, TNA.

112. Ibid.

113. 17A, WO308/21, TNA.

114. ‘Draft Copy, Q Branch Historical Report’, para. 13, WO308/11; 10A, WO308/14, TNA.

115. Ibid.

116. ‘Draft Copy, Q Branch Historical Report’, paras 17, 22, WO308/11; ‘The Ordnance Services in Korea’, Phase I, 13–17, WO308/14, 15A, WO308/20,TNA.

117. 30–33, WO308/14, TNA.

118. 15A, WO308/20, 30, WO308/14; ‘War Diary for 4 Base Ordnance Depot’, entries for 14 May and 21 July 1951, WO281/1176, ‘Draft Copy, Q Branch Historical Report’, para. 47, WO308/11, TNA.

119. 17A, WO308/21, TNA.

120. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix C, para. 6, WO308/5; ‘Collation: Korea (11)’, item nos. 4579, 4618, 391, 457, 770, 758, 898, 1621, WO308/68, TNA.

121. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 April 1953–30 Sep 1953,’ para. 130, WO32/15349; 11A, WO308/12, TNA; Sutton, ed., Story of the Royal Army Service Corps, 238.

122. ‘Report on the Organisation and Work of HQ BCFK/BCOF during the Period 1 Oct 1951–31 Mar 1952’, Appendix D, para. 1b, WO32/20500; ‘War Diary for 444 Field Delivery Squadron RAC’, entry for 1 Oct. 1953, WO281/725; ‘War Diary for 4 Base Ordnance Depot’, entry for 30 April 1951, WO281/1176; 15A, WO308/20, all TNA; Mitchell and Sawyer, The Empire Ships, 390.

123. Messages dated 17 Nov. 1950 and 11 Nov. 1952, ADM1/23236; Korean War–Reports of Proceedings No. 23, 10 Dec. 1950, ADM116/5794, TNA.

124. Quoted in Stone, ‘Nursing Aboard’, 114.

125. See Murfett, In Jeopardy, 3–4.

126. Nash, ‘Royal Navy in Korea’, 169, 173.

127. Bartlett, The Long Retreat, 137; Short, In Pursuit of Mountain Rats, 490–93.

128. Gregorian, The British Army, 133, 198–200, 222, 228–36, 286, n. 208; Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 183, 210, 218, n. 74.

129. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, 243; Subritzky, Confronting Sukarno, 185–88; Smith, An International History, vol. 1, 174–80, 220–21, 258–60, vol. 2, 16–17, 77–89.

130. Gregorian, The British Army, 160–61, 222; Chi-Kwan, Hong Kong and the Cold War, 60–82.

131. Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 386–88, 389–90; James and Sheil-Small, The Undeclared War; Fowler, Britain’s Secret War.

132. Hack, Defence and Decolonisation, 264; Ball, ‘Over and Out’, 479–80.

133. Darby, British Defence Policy, ch. 8; Bartlett, The Long Retreat, chs 6–7; Dockrill, British Defence since 1945, ch. 6; Carver, Tightrope Walking, ch. 5.

134. Murfett et al., Between Two Oceans, 399–405.

135. Dockrill, British Defence since 1945, 108.

136. Lee, From Third World to First, 312; Ball, ‘Over and Out’, 485–86.

137. See, for example, Chi-Kwan, ‘Vietnam War Tourists’, 1–28.

138. Gaddis, Strategies of Containment, 29–30, 57, 59, 295–97.

139. Singapore Changi naval base, accessed 26 May 2011, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/singapore.htm; see also Jackson, Distant Drums, 290–92.

140. Cordesman, ‘The Lessons of Afghanistan’, 4–11, 145; see also Erickson, Ladwig and Mikolay, ‘Diego Garcia and the United States’, 214–37.

141. Although this is as yet undertaken in a non-confrontational fashion. See Pehrson, ‘String of Pearls’; ‘China Builds Up Strategic Sea Lanes’, The Washington Times, 17 Jan. 2005, accessed 26 May 2011. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2005/jan/17/20050117-115550-1929r/.