east of Suez
{{for|the 1925 film directed by Raoul Walsh|East of Suez (film)}}
{{Short description|British foreign policy in Asia}}East of Suez is a term used in British military and political discussions in reference to interests east of the Suez Canal, and may or may not include the Middle East.[http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=7023 Britain's Retreat from East of Suez: The Choice Between Europe and the World?] by Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. xv + 293 pp. $65.00 (cloth), {{ISBN|978-0-333-73236-6}}, Published on H-Levant (December, 2002) The phrase was popularised by Rudyard Kipling in his 1890 poem "Mandalay".[http://www.kipling.org.uk/rg_mandalay1.htm "Mandalay"] by Rudyard Kipling (1890) It later became a popular song when a tune was added by Oley Speaks in 1907.[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1672696/ Oley Speaks (1874–1948)] on IMDB
:"Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
:Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;"
19th century
{{See also|Indo-Mediterranean}}
The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 provided the shortest ocean link from Britain to the Far East by making the long journey around the Cape of Good Hope unnecessary.{{Cite web|url=https://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/modern-world-history-1918-to-1980/the-cold-war/the-suez-crisis-of-1956/|title=The Suez Crisis of 1956|website=History Learning Site}} With the 1882 invasion and occupation of Egypt, the United Kingdom took de facto control of the country as well as joint control along with the French of the Suez Canal – which had been described as the “jugular vein of the Empire”.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/cabinetpapers/help/glossary-s.htm|title=Glossary - S|first=The National|last=Archives|website=www.nationalarchives.gov.uk}}
The canal and the imperial outposts east of the canal were of genuine strategic value to the British Empire{{Cite web|url=https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/europe.htm|title=The British Empire in Europe|website=www.britishempire.co.uk}} and its military infrastructure drew on sea lanes of communication through the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, alternatively round the Cape of Good Hope to India, and on to East Asia (Brunei, Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong, North Borneo, Singapore, Sarawak) and Australia.
20th century
= Fall of Singapore =
The capture of Singapore by the Japanese on 15 February 1942, which was preceded by the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, severely damaged the Empire as it lost a strategic imperial outpost and presaged the end of British imperial power post–World War II.[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/sep/07/japan-imperialism-militarism Japan's gigantic second world war gamble], Guardian Then, with the Partition of India later in 1947, there was a gradual decrease of the military presence "East of Suez", marking the end of the Empire.Darwin, John [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/modern/endofempire_overview_01.shtml Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire]Peterson J. E. [http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/dfdgar03.pdf Postwar Policy: British Retreat And Imperial Vestiges] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150421014446/http://www.jepeterson.net/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/dfdgar03.pdf |date=2015-04-21 }} in Defending Arabia. London: Croom Helm; New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986. {{ISBN|9780312191146}}
= Suez Crisis =
The Suez Crisis—a diplomatic and military confrontation in November 1956, caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser—ended in Egypt taking complete control of the canal. Both the United States and the USSR threatened the British to relent, exposing the now marginalized economic and military influence of the UK and its loss of superpower status, limiting its access to its bases in the Middle East and Asia.[http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/reviews/PDF/McDougall-Benvenuti.pdf H-Diplo Article Commentary: McDougall on Benvenuti][http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/1983/2/Anglo_Libyan_Relations_1964_1970.pdf Anglo Libyan relations and the British military facilities 1964-1970] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220235942/http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/1983/2/Anglo_Libyan_Relations_1964_1970.pdf |date=2013-12-20 }} by Sean W Straw BA MA, University of Nottingham
= Devaluation of the pound =
In January 1968, a few weeks after the devaluation of the pound, the Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his Defence Secretary, Denis Healey, announced that British troops would be withdrawn in 1971 from major military bases in South East Asia, "east of Aden", primarily in Malaysia and Singapore[http://usir.salford.ac.uk/1712/1/What_Now_for_Britain.pdf "What Now for Britain?”] The State Department’s Intelligence Assessment of the “Special Relationship,” 7 February 1968 by Jonathan ColmanPham P. L. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Wy343pptNB4C&pg=PP22 Ending 'East of Suez': The British Decision to Withdraw from Malaysia and Singapore]Shohei Sato [https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:L7m7UW38iXwJ:koochehcdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/files/Britain_s-decision-to-withdraw-from-the-Persian-Gulf-1964-681.pdf+&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShF4WgtcQbhHwUjBrYHfcIiRD3mTSn_8CouGZ74GC92B7GIzP44UBooMBGn3fWHd_IgCz1Y61wNVcZI1b5Jh1Hl3PrYFrMiiS1-xRHuHo6J26OdP4uia4C60gtA8ccYXcg-q3OP&sig=AHIEtbSFeStEf2Jo6bxjeKJpVHidP1aRVQ Britain's decision to withdraw from the Persian Gulf 1964-68] as well as the Persian Gulf and the Maldives[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:I2CjcnhVTwwJ:www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc%3FAD%3DADA510241+&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESibLhk-A0hl5dFayB0MS6PjijTyJlQAd3Qq4hWVi_XhEnLIq6zBTVh_85t9m2nZdCoXeK7-1WnYxNy6TBa5qlWlxGEbiuHc5NDiJlPS7pllw92YRnjqYtHVj2hWN3uBLTf2XX29&sig=AHIEtbQZIRu1qy8kho7jkHXgkJrLXBo_bA Withdrawal from Empire:] Britain's Decolonization of Egypt, Aden, and Kenya in the Mid-Twentieth Century - A Monograph by Maj Brian S. Olson, U.S. Army (both of which are sited in the Indian Ocean), which is when the phrase "East of Suez" became part of the vernacular. In June 1970, Edward Heath's Conservative government came to power and retained a small political and military commitment to South East Asia through the Five Power Defence Arrangements.[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:fSWUG4yt7yoJ:www.securitychallenges.org.au/ArticlePDFs/vol3no1Thayer.pdf+&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg9BPXjMuWl4gUZBQygu6KNKEd-2G4j_CY_3tmlWM0LGTIzbnkz8DZOc96PNS8dRA1xlmf-k5b-4XK3CBG-jHT7gHy-UFPQgUM0UPO16Z9mBTkVOZzSYdHE2lIv5hBKSZk9kD1n&sig=AHIEtbS1xn-zeK5_A6s7zLQxN_DsJH0AJA The Five Power Defence Arrangements]: The Quiet Achiever by Carlyle A. Thayer Prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, Britain based several units in Hong Kong.
21st century
File:CSG-21_Transits_the_Suez_Canal.webp transiting the Suez Canal in July 2021]]
In April 2013, the British research institute the Royal United Services Institute published a report which stated that the UK is in the process of a strategic shift back to an east of Suez policy. The report stated that a permanent military presence was being established at Al-Minhad in the United Arab Emirates, by the Royal Air Force, as well as the continuing buildup of British troops in the Persian Gulf states as Britain begins to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. Furthermore, the report argued that as Britain begins to relocate its troops from Germany by 2020, the British base in the UAE could become their permanent home.{{cite web|title=The New East of Suez Question: Damage Limitation after Failure Over Syria|url=https://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C523A2F0A381F3/#.VZROPeu-ra6 |publisher=Royal United Services Institute|access-date=1 July 2015|date=19 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702081038/https://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C523A2F0A381F3/#.VZROPeu-ra6|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=dead}}
The think tank also explained that as the United States begins to concentrate more on the Asia-Pacific region in its attempt to balance China's rise as a world power, a strategic vacuum would emerge in the Persian Gulf region which was being filled incrementally by Britain. This shift of troops to the UAE coincided with establishment of the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Component Command (UKMCC) in Bahrain. In December, the UK's Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sir David Richards said: "After Afghanistan, the [Persian] Gulf will become our main military effort".Gardner, Frank [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22333555 'East of Suez': Are UK forces returning?] BBC News 29 April 2013{{cite web|title=A Return to East of Suez? UK Military Deployment to the Gulf|url=https://www.rusi.org/publications/other/ref:N517AA8D59D1B3/|publisher=Royal United Services Institute|access-date=1 July 2015|date=April 2013|archive-date=2 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702075536/https://www.rusi.org/publications/other/ref:N517AA8D59D1B3/|url-status=dead}} Overall this would signal a reversal of Britain's East of Suez withdrawal.Waterman, Shaun [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/29/british-forces-returning-imperial-stamping-grounds/ British forces to return to Persian Gulf to fill void from U.S. exit] The Washington Times, 29 April 2013{{cite web|title=The New East of Suez Question: Damage Limitation after Failure Over Syria |url=https://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C523A2F0A381F3/#.VZROPeu-ra6|publisher=Royal United Services Institute|access-date=1 July 2015|date=19 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702081038/https://www.rusi.org/analysis/commentary/ref:C523A2F0A381F3/#.VZROPeu-ra6|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=dead}}
In 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that the UK would expand its naval facilities in Bahrain to accept larger Royal Navy ships deployed to the Persian Gulf. HMS Jufair is the UK's first permanent military base located East of Suez since it withdrew from the region in 1971. The base will reportedly be large enough to accommodate Type 45 destroyers and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.{{cite web|title=East of Suez, West from Helmand: British Expeditionary Force and the next SDSR |url=http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sites/default/files/ORGDec14EastSuezWestHelmand_0.pdf|publisher=Oxford Research Group|access-date=22 May 2015|date=December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702074143/http://www.oxfordresearchgroup.org.uk/sites/default/files/ORGDec14EastSuezWestHelmand_0.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=UK-Bahrain sign landmark defence agreement|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-bahrain-sign-landmark-defence-agreement|access-date=6 December 2014|publisher=Foreign & Commonwealth Office|date=5 December 2014}}{{cite news|title=UK to establish £15m permanent Mid East military base|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30355953|access-date=6 December 2014|publisher=BBC|date=6 December 2014}} The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 stated new British Defence Staffs will be established in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa in 2016.{{cite web|title=PM pledges £178 billion investment in defence kit|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-pledges-178-billion-investment-in-defence-kit|publisher=Ministry of Defence|access-date=23 November 2015|date=23 November 2015|page=49}}{{cite news|title=Britain considers stronger military co-operation with Gulf|url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ac154eb6-863a-11e5-9f8c-a8d619fa707c.html#axzz3sM8shycX|access-date=23 November 2015|work=Financial Times|date=8 November 2015}} In 2017, the UK Joint Logistics Support Base was established in Oman, followed by a new Omani-British Joint Training Area in 2019.{{cite news|title=Defence Secretary strengthens ties between UK and Oman |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-strengthens-ties-between-uk-and-oman |access-date=18 September 2020|agency=GOV.UK|date=28 August 2017}}{{cite news|title=UK and Oman sign historic Joint Defence Agreement |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-oman-sign-historic-joint-defence-agreement|access-date=18 September 2020 |agency=GOV.UK |date=21 February 2019}}
Britain maintains a Jungle Warfare Training School in Brunei, and a battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles in addition to some aircraft of the Army Air Corps as part of the British Military Garrison Brunei.{{Cite web|url=http://thingsasian.com/story/union-jack-still-flies-britains-last-military-outpost-asia|title=Union Jack still flies at Britain's last military outpost in Asia | ThingsAsian|website=thingsasian.com}} There is also a small British military presence remaining on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory, and a refuelling station (manned by Royal Navy personnel) in Sembawang, Singapore, as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/world/singapore|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120914032323/http://ukinsingapore.fco.gov.uk/en/about-us/working-with-singapore/defence|url-status=dead|title=UK help and services in Singapore - GOV.UK|archivedate=September 14, 2012|website=www.gov.uk}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|2|refs=}}
Further reading
- Darby, Phillip. "Beyond East of Suez." International Affairs 46.4 (1970): 655-669. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2614529 online], covers Conservative Party response
- Darby, Phillip. British Defence Policy East of Suez, 1947-1968 (Oxford UP, 1973)
- Dockrill, Saki. Britain’s Retreat from East of Suez: The Choice between Europe and the World? (Springer, 2002).
- Hanning, Hugh. "Britain East of Suez-Facts and Figures." International Affairs 42.2 (1966): 253-260. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2611633 online]
- Howard, Michael. "Britain's Strategic Problem East of Suez." International Affairs 42.2 (1966): 179-183. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/2611626 online]
- McCourt, David M. "What was Britain's 'East of Suez role'? Reassessing the withdrawal, 1964–1968." Diplomacy & Statecraft 20.3 (2009): 453-472.
- Parr, Helen. "Britain, America, East of Suez and the EEC: finding a role in British foreign policy, 1964–67." Contemporary British History 20.3 (2006): 403-421.
- Pickering, Jeffrey. Britain's withdrawal from East of Suez (Springer, 1998).
- Sanders, David, and David Houghton. Losing an empire, finding a role: British foreign policy since 1945 (2nd ed. 2017) pp 118–31.
- Vaez-Zadeh, Hessameddin, and Reza Javadi, "Reassessing Britain’s Withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in 1971 and its Military Return in 2014." World Sociopolitical Studies 3.1 (2019): 1-44 [https://wsps.ut.ac.ir/article_72805.html Online].