East of Suez Flashcards
British withdrew from Kuwait
1961
British withdrew from Aden
1967
Why did the British withdraw from Aden?
Nationalism from within Aden and neighbouring Yemen
How did the British attempt to maintain control in Aden?
Created the South Arabia Federation in 1963
What did the South Arabia Federation become after independence?
People’s Republic of Southern Yemen
UAE formed
Bahrain, Qatar and Trucial States join to form UAE (1970-71), although Bahrain and Qatar then become separately independent, i.e. they are not part of the union
Defence Review (3 main ideas)
February 1966
- Retain naval presence in Singapore and Malaysia
- Focussed on the ‘overstretch’ that imperial troops were experiencing
- Stated intention to withdraw from Aden in November 1967
Defence White Paper
July 1967
Stated that the number of troops in Singapore would halve by 1970/71
Outlined the decision to withdraw East of Suez
Formally announced the withdrawal of troops east of Suez
12 January 1968
Wilson’s government had intended to maintain their military and naval bases in the East in…
1964
East of Suez was X % of overseas military expenditure
Over 50%
Number of British service personnel based east of Suez in mid-1960s
100,000
General defence cuts
Reducing defence budget from 7 to 6% of GDP
British defence vs industrial competitors
Britain was spending a higher proportion of its GDP on defence than any of its industrial competitors (except USA)
Border dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia had ended by…
August 1966
British no longer needed a foothold from which to protect Malaysia, whose defence they were still responsible for
