| PREFACE |
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| The
policies under which Australian military personnel have been committed
to the many campaigns and wars undertaken in the nation's short history
are recorded in official war histories or in the many other works available
in Australia. Less well known are the policies applied at other times.
Little has been written publicly about the period between the cessation
of hostilities between Australia and Japan in August 1945 and the commitment
of Australian forces, then based in Japan, to the war which erupted in
Korea in June 1950. The study of this period has been neglected notwithstanding
its importance to any consideration of later policies.
This period was one of fundamental readjustment in Australian National Security policies, most particularly as a consequence of the decision to commit substantial Australian forces, in times of peace, to the allied occupation of Japan. Further, the rapidly changing international situation and the determination of Australian governments of the day to pursue independent policies caused major adjustments in the relationships with Australia's principal allies and in the conduct of Australian policy. This new approach sought to build upon the military contribution made by Australia to the prosecution of the War of 1939-1945, especially against Japan. The Australian government acted quickly to raise Australia's status in Asia and the Pacific generally by means of a vigorous and significant contribution to the military occupation of Japan. By these actions the government expected recognition internationally in terms of the Australian expenditure in lives and treasure in the war to defeat the Axis Powers and to secure an undisputed place in the peace councils. The principal Australian commitment, to the occupation force for Japan, at its peak in 1946 almost 12 000 Australians, called for an intricate balancing of the individual and collective interest of the principal powers involved. By its commitment to what became known as the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) in Japan, Australia also sought to assume a position of leadership on behalf of British Commonwealth interests in Asia and the Pacific. Australian policies for the period were initially bold and imaginative but in the end unsuccessful. The reasons for this lack of success are instructive and are to be found partly in the imperfections in the formulation and execution of Australian policy. Much more influential however were the actions taken by the governments of the United States and the United Kingdom as they pursued their national interests in this time of readjustment in the balance of international power. Indirectly these adjustments accelerated the return of the recently defeated Japan to a position of importance in the consideration of international affairs. Nevertheless
Australian actions were to set in place a pattern for Australia's political
and military role in the region of its direct interest, usually in concert
with its great and powerful friend, the United States. Most importantly
Australia's pursuit of its interests in a treaty of peace with Japan led
it also into a long standing and invaluable formal relationship with Finally, the formulation and execution of Australian policies during the period of special interest to this study led to a necessary maturing in the experience of those responsible for the development of Australia's National Security Policies. |
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