Emergency and Confrontation
Australian Military Operations in Malaya and Borneo 1950-1966
1996
First Published
381
Number of Pages
Part of Series
This is an account of Australia's military involvement in the Malayan Emergency waged against the armed forces of the Malayan Communist Party between 1948 and 1960, and in confrontation, an undeclared war initiated by Indonesia to destabilise the emergency Federation of Malaysia and fought largely along the common border in the northern part of Borneo between 1962 and 1966. As part of the British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve, Australian soldiers engaged in protracted operations in northern Malaya and along the Thai border, while Australian airmen flew bombing sorties against suspected enemy concentrations, usually in deep jungle. While the Emergency concluded, Australian forces saw service again in the 1960s as part of a Commonwealth force in Borneo. Operations in both campaigns were gruelling and drawn out. Their success helped to protect emergency democracy of post-colonial Malaysia, while they also provided valuable experience for Australian soldiers in the skills of jungle warfare, counter-insurgency and small unit action.
