Confronting Sukarno: British, American, Australian and New Zealand Diplomacy in the Malaysian-Indonesian Confrontation, 1961-65 Book

John Subritzky's book analyses western cold war diplomacy in Southeast Asia during the early to mid-1960s. It does so from the perspective of Konfrontasi (Confrontation), a diplomatic and military crisis caused by Indonesia's violent opposition to the then stillborn Federation of Malaysia. In writing the book, the author has drawn extensively on recently declassified materials in Britain, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Confronting Sukarno stresses both the regional and international implications of Konfrontasi. In western capitals, the crucial geo-strategic importance of Indonesia was widely recognized. If allied to the West, this huge country could become an effective barrier to Chinese communist domination of Asia. On the other hand, a communist Indonesia would completely undermine the American war effort in Vietnam. In addition, the Commonwealth countries regarded a stable and prosperous Malaysia as the only means by which Britain's historic role east of Suez could be preserved into the post-colonial era. As a result, the stakes for all powers involved in Konfrontasi was extremely high.Read More