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Why did Australia become involved in the Vietnam War
Vietnam and the commitment of allied troops in South Vietnam rose.
Later in nineteen sixty six, the majority of the Australian people were seen to support the war so the number of troops in South Vietnam were increased.
The main objection the Australian people had against the war was the conscription of young men.
Australians who supported the war claimed that the communist governments of China and the Soviet Union were planning to take over the whole of South-East Asia. It was believed if South Vietnam fell to communism, then one Asian country after another would continue to fall, another example of the ‘domino theory.’
After World War two, a great struggle developed between the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States supported anti communist governments in many nations, and the Soviet Union obviously supported Communist governments. The two superpowers didn’t fight each other directly; they fought through support towards other countries. This was known as the Cold War, it occurred from nineteen forty five till 1989. Australia was on the United States side, and this strengthened our defensive alliance with the superpower, and our defensive alliance would strengthen even more if we offered support at the Vietnam War.
The Korean War had also been a big step in securing a firm alliance for Australia and the United States.
The SEATO alliance treaty of 1954 also granted protection for South Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos under the treaty’s security arrangements.
The ANZUS agreement of 1951 was Australia, New Zealand and the United States agreed to come to one another’s aid in the event of an attack. These two treaties gave a good reason for Australia to support its allies in Vietnam to stop communism.
The involvement of Australian forces in Vietnam was a gradual process of escalating commitment which took place over a period of several years against a background of Cold War concerns with regional security and fear of Communist expansion. The cornerstone of Australian defence planning in the early 1960s was 'forward defence', a concept which complemented the United States policy of 'containment' of Communism in south-east Asia and embraced Australia's obligations under the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO). Australia went into Vietnam to show the United States that Australia was a good ally, and to stop the spread of communism getting any closer to Australia. Many people didn’t question the war; they either supported it or saw that Australia was doing its duty to support the war effort. As the war dragged on, some people questioned Australia’s role in the war. This war split our nation’s people and provoked violent confrontations. The Vietnam War was Australia’s longest war, and the only war in which we fought on the losing side. It was also our only ‘unofficial’ war, where Australia didn’t declare war on the Viet Cong or North Vietnamese.
The Vietnam War was in some ways pointless and in other ways a war that Australia needed to take part in. It split our nation, but didn’t split our strong alliance with [next page]