The threat of communist influence was overrated.

Discuss with
reference to the decolonisation process in Southeast Asia.
After the Japanese defeat and surrender in August 1945, the
decolonisation process in Southeast Asia began. While there were other
factors affecting the colonial powers decision in transferring power,
Communism was the main concern. This essay seeks to argue that the
threat of communist influence was not overrated because it is the premise
which the whole idea of decolonisation is predicated upon.
The threat of communism was the bedrock that brought about strong
disincentive for the colonial powers to re-impose their control over
Southeast Asian colonies by force due to the potential cost on post-war
economic rehabilitation. Hence, after overcoming the initial reluctance,
some colonial masters proved to be willing to accede to the nationalist
demand for independence. Perceived as a showpiece of their existence
and a colony rich in financial resources, the Dutch were initially driven to
retain control of Indonesia. However, opposed by the US who became
convinced that Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta were staunchly anticommunist, the Dutch gave in at the threat of the US removing the
Marshall aid which was essential for their economic recovery, and became
willing to grant independence, even though they had already overcame
the challenges posed by the Bermuda Youths and Indonesia Republican
army in the first and second Police Actions organised inn July 1947 and
December 1948 respectively. Likewise in Malaya, after World War 2, the
British initially only planned to amalgamate the 3 separate Malaya and
create a centralised Malayan Union to coordinate Malayas post-war
rehabilitation and process towards self-rule but there is no mention of
independence. However, when the Malayan Union emergency broke out in
June 1948, for the sake of restoring economic stability so as to protect
British investment in Malaya, the British started grooming moderate,
communal and anti-communist parties for future self-government.
Therefore, the underlying reason for the outcome of the decolonisation
process clearly lies with the threat of communism, which shaped the
decisions of the colonial masters and their aims.
Moreover, before the nationalists ever needed to fight or negotiate for
independence, some of the colonial powersreturned to the post-war
Southeast Asia already with an inclination to grant independence on the
account of the communist threat, as long as it is in line with their national
interest and they were convinced that their colonies were sufficiently
prepared for it. For example in Malaya, after the British were convinced
that the Malayan nationalists were anti-communist and they were able to
secure broad-based nation-wide support, the British were willing to grant
Malaya independence. As such, after the UMNO leaders like Tunku Abdul
Rahman and MCA leaders like Tan Cheng Lock proved their anticommunist credentials by taking an uncompromising stand towards Chin
Pengs communist demands during the 1955 Baling Talks with the Malayan
Communist Party (MCP), and after the united political front formed by

United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), Malayan Chinese

Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) in 1954 wont 51 out
of 52 seats during the 1955 federal election which proved to the British
that they had the national support from a large majority of the people, the
British granted Malaya independence on 31 August 1957. Likewise in the
Philippines, as long as there was a popular non-communist government
that was amenable to the US interest in place to succeed power, the US
was willing to grant independence as promised in the 1934 Tydings
McDuffie Act. As such, in April 1946, after the general election was held
and the non-communist leader of the Liberal Party, Manuel Roxas, won the
election, thus showing that Roxas has the support to run independent
Philippines, and after the signing of the 1947 Military Base Agreement
which ineffective made the Philippines a US bastion of anti-communism in
Southeast
Asia,on
4July
1946,
Philippines
was
granted
independence.Therefore, for returning colonial governments that were
preoccupied with communist concerns, the effects communist threat had
on the decolonisation process apparently were not overrated.
However, the decolonisation process is not only a one-way process.
Considering that some of the nationalists had to use their newly acquired
military forces in their revolutionary struggle to force the colonial powers
to concede independence when faced with the uncompromising hostility
of the returning colonial powers, the influence of the communist threat in
effecting the decolonisation process may have been overrated. For
example in Indonesia, Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta had to use the
Indonesian Republic Army (IRA) to suppress the Communist uprisings at
Madiun in September 1948 before their standing in the estimation of the
US would be dramatically raised. This is essential because if they had not
had such capabilities, the US would never have seen them as staunchly
anti-communist Republican government who could be their ally in brewing
the global Cold War against USS and US pressure on the Dutch is key in
bringing about independence for Indonesia. Likewise, in Vietnam, the
Vietminh, a communist paramilitary force, had to engage in tenacious
guerrilla warfare from 1946 until 1954 under General Vo Nguyen Giaps
military guidance to bring about the French defeat at the Battle of Dien
Bian Phu in May 1954. In spite the nationalists being communist, the
success of the Vietminh resulted in the loss of French will to continue
fighting and hence brought about the singing of the Geneva Accords in
July 1954 where France formally granted independence to Indochinese.
Therefore, under the circumstance that independence was won by the
military capabilities of the nationalist despite the unwillingness of the
colonial masters to grant independence, the influence of the communist
threat in effecting the decolonisation process may have been overrated.
Still, the ever prevalent presence of influence of the communist threat in
shaping the decolonisation process even in circumstance where it has
relatively less autonomy to exercise its influence, shows that its influence
in the decolonisation process, ultimately is not overrated. For example in
Indonesia, while it is true that the IRA had to be used before independence

would ever be granted, the fact that the anti-communist credentials of

Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta had to be proven to the US, shows that
success of the decolonisation process is ultimately hinged upon the
decision of the colonial powers which was shaped by the communist
threat, instead of the military capabilities of the nationalists per se that
had compelled the colonial powers to have absolutely no other options
but to grant independence. Likewise, even after the Vietnamese
nationalists defeated the French in the first Indochinese war which lasted
from 1946 to 1954, independence was only granted on the condition that
it would be divided at the 17th parallel, a demarcation only to eventually
turn out as what was a separation between communist North Vietnam and
democratic South Vietnam, for fear that the whole of Vietnam would fall
into communism should the two unite. Hence, even when the capabilities
of the nationalist were more significant in bringing about the
decolonisation process, conditions set by the colonial masters based on
the principles shaped by the communist threat had to be met for
independence to be achieved, thereby showing that the influence of the
threat of communism after was not exaggerated.
All in all, undoubtedly there was varying degree of influence the threat of
communism had on the decolonisation process in various countries as the
dominance of the colonial powers in having a say in the decolonisation
power varied, having suffered differing levels of damage from world war 2.
However, the keystone of decolonisation was still the threat of
communism. Colonial powers that had a pre-existing inclination to grant
independence on the account of the communist threat aside, the threat of
communism served as a bedrock that brought about strong disincentive
for the colonial powers to re-impose their control over Southeast Asian
colonies. Consistent in all countries is that the threat of communism
formed the undercurrent in the process of decolonisation. Therefore,
genuinely, the threat of communism is not overrated.