Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents and Contributors
- Maps
- Part One The Australian Community
- Part Two The International Community
- Part Three The Pacific and Asia
- 9 Australian Strategic and Defence Policies
- 10 Australia and the United States
- 11 Australia and the Great Powers in Asia
- 12 Australia and Indonesia, 1961–1970
- 13 Papua New Guinea
- 14 Australia and the Indian Ocean Area
- Part Four The Seventies: Australia’s Options
- Index
- Plates
14 - Australia and the Indian Ocean Area
from Part Three - The Pacific and Asia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 March 2024
By
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- Contents and Contributors
- Maps
- Part One The Australian Community
- Part Two The International Community
- Part Three The Pacific and Asia
- 9 Australian Strategic and Defence Policies
- 10 Australia and the United States
- 11 Australia and the Great Powers in Asia
- 12 Australia and Indonesia, 1961–1970
- 13 Papua New Guinea
- 14 Australia and the Indian Ocean Area
- Part Four The Seventies: Australia’s Options
- Index
- Plates
Summary
For the first time in its history, the Indian Ocean became an area of major international concern during the five years under review. This was due to the combination of a greatly reduced British defence presence, and a Soviet initiative to expand its political and economic interests in the region concurrent with a modest display of naval activity. The United States showed little inclination to match the Soviet presence, so that Australia’s western maritime environment – across which roughly half its trade was carried – seemed less secure than at any time since the First Fleet arrived in New South Wales in 1788.
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- Information
- Australia in World Affairs 1966–1970 , pp. 425 - 446Publisher: Cambridge University PressFirst published in: 2024