East of Suez

Last updated
British Territories "East of Suez" Map of British Territories Colonies, Mandates And Protectorates in the Middle East.png
British Territories "East of Suez"

East of Suez is a term used in British military and political discussions in reference to interests east of the Suez Canal, and may or may not include the Middle East. [1] The phrase was popularised by Rudyard Kipling in his 1890 poem "Mandalay". [2] It later became a popular song when a tune was added by Oley Speaks in 1907. [3]

Contents

"Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren't no Ten Commandments an' a man can raise a thirst;"

19th century

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 provided the shortest ocean link from Britain to the Far East by making the long journey around the Cape of Good Hope unnecessary. [4] With the 1882 invasion and occupation of Egypt, the United Kingdom took de facto control of the country as well as joint control along with the French of the Suez Canal – which had been described as the “jugular vein of the Empire”. [5]

The canal and the imperial outposts east of the canal were of genuine strategic value to the British Empire [6] and its military infrastructure drew on sea lanes of communication through the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal, alternatively round the Cape of Good Hope to India, and on to East Asia (Brunei, Burma, Malaya, Hong Kong, North Borneo, Singapore, Sarawak) and Australia.

20th century

Fall of Singapore

The capture of Singapore by the Japanese on 15 February 1942, which was preceded by the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse, severely damaged the Empire as it lost a strategic imperial outpost and presaged the end of British imperial power post–World War II. [7] Then, with the Partition of India later in 1947, there was a gradual decrease of the military presence "East of Suez", marking the end of the Empire. [8] [9]

Suez Crisis

The Suez Crisis—a diplomatic and military confrontation in November 1956, caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser—ended in Egypt taking complete control of the canal. Both the United States and the USSR threatened the British to relent, exposing the now marginalized economic and military influence of the UK and its loss of superpower status, limiting its access to its bases in the Middle East and Asia. [9] [10] [11]

Devaluation of the pound

In January 1968, a few weeks after the devaluation of the pound, [1] [8] the Labour Party Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his Defence Secretary, Denis Healey, announced that British troops would be withdrawn in 1971 from major military bases in South East Asia, "east of Aden", primarily in Malaysia and Singapore [12] [13] [14] as well as the Persian Gulf and the Maldives [15] (both of which are sited in the Indian Ocean), which is when the phrase "East of Suez" became part of the vernacular. In June 1970, Edward Heath's Conservative government came to power and retained a small political and military commitment to South East Asia through the Five Power Defence Arrangements. [16] Prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, Britain based several units in Hong Kong.

21st century

Ships of UK Carrier Strike Group 21 transiting the Suez Canal in July 2021 CSG-21 Transits the Suez Canal.webp
Ships of UK Carrier Strike Group 21 transiting the Suez Canal in July 2021

In April 2013, the British research institute the Royal United Services Institute published a report which stated that the UK is in the process of a strategic shift back to an east of Suez policy. The report stated that a permanent military presence was being established at Al-Minhad in the United Arab Emirates, by the Royal Air Force, as well as the continuing buildup of British troops in the Persian Gulf states as Britain begins to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan. Furthermore, the report argued that as Britain begins to relocate its troops from Germany by 2020, the British base in the UAE could become their permanent home. [17]

The think tank also explained that as the United States begins to concentrate more on the Asia-Pacific region in its attempt to balance China's rise as a world power, a strategic vacuum would emerge in the Persian Gulf region which was being filled incrementally by Britain. This shift of troops to the UAE coincided with establishment of the Royal Navy's UK Maritime Component Command (UKMCC) in Bahrain. In December, the UK's Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sir David Richards said: "After Afghanistan, the [Persian] Gulf will become our main military effort". [18] [19] Overall this would signal a reversal of Britain's East of Suez withdrawal. [20] [21]

In 2014, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that the UK would expand its naval facilities in Bahrain to accept larger Royal Navy ships deployed to the Persian Gulf. HMS Jufair is the UK's first permanent military base located East of Suez since it withdrew from the region in 1971. The base will reportedly be large enough to accommodate Type 45 destroyers and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. [22] [23] [24] The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 stated new British Defence Staffs will be established in the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Africa in 2016. [25] [26] In 2017, the UK Joint Logistics Support Base was established in Oman, followed by a new Omani-British Joint Training Area in 2019. [27] [28]

Britain maintains a Jungle Warfare Training School in Brunei, and a battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles in addition to some aircraft of the Army Air Corps as part of the British Military Garrison Brunei. [29] There is also a small British military presence remaining on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory, and a refuelling station (manned by Royal Navy personnel) in Sembawang, Singapore, as part of the Five Power Defence Arrangements. [30]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persian Gulf</span> Arm of the Indian Ocean in West Asia

The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is connected to the Gulf of Oman in the east by the Strait of Hormuz. The Shatt al-Arab river delta forms the northwest shoreline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Armed Forces</span> Combined military forces of the United Kingdom

The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suez Crisis</span> 1956 British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt

The Suez Crisis also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and as the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so with the primary objective of re-opening the Straits of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba as the recent tightening of the eight-year-long Egyptian blockade further prevented Israeli passage. After issuing a joint ultimatum for a ceasefire, the United Kingdom and France joined the Israelis on 5 November, seeking to depose Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser and regain control of the Suez Canal, which Nasser had earlier nationalised by transferring administrative control from the foreign-owned Suez Canal Company to Egypt's new government-owned Suez Canal Authority. Shortly after the invasion began, the three countries came under heavy political pressure from both the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as from the United Nations, eventually prompting their withdrawal from Egypt. Israel's four-month-long occupation of the Egyptian-occupied Gaza Strip and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula enabled it to attain freedom of navigation through the Straits of Tiran, but the Suez Canal was closed from October 1956 to March 1957.

The 1966 Defence White Paper was a major review of the United Kingdom's defence policy initiated by the Labour government under Prime Minister Harold Wilson. The review was led by the Secretary of State for Defence, Denis Healey. The document was centred on the need to support NATO in Europe and made the commitment that the UK, "would not undertake major operations of war except in co-operation with allies." The 1966 announcements undertook to retain the UK presence in Singapore and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Choke point</span> Critical pathway through land or water, through which an armed force must pass

In military strategy, a choke point, or sometimes bottleneck, is a geographical feature on land such as a valley, defile or bridge, or maritime passage through a critical waterway such as a strait, which an armed force is forced to pass through in order to reach its objective, sometimes on a substantially narrowed front and therefore greatly decreasing its combat effectiveness by making it harder to bring superior numbers to bear. A choke point can allow a numerically inferior defending force to use the terrain as a force multiplier to thwart or ambush a much larger opponent, as the attacker cannot advance any further without first securing passage through the choke point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle East Command</span> British Army command defending the Middle East

Middle East Command, later Middle East Land Forces, was a British Army Command established prior to the Second World War in Egypt. Its primary role was to command British land forces and co-ordinate with the relevant naval and air commands to defend British interests in the Middle East and eastern Mediterranean region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab states of the Persian Gulf</span>

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen is bound to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Singapore Naval Base</span> Military unit

His Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, also Her Majesty's Naval Base, Singapore, alternatively known as the Singapore Naval Base, Sembawang Naval Base and HMS Sembawang, was situated in Sembawang at the northern tip of Singapore and was both a Royal Navy shore establishment and a cornerstone of British defence policy in the Far East between the World Wars. From 1921 to 1941 it was a China Station base, from 1941 to 1945 a repair facility for the Imperial Japanese Navy and from 1945 to 1958 a Far East Fleet base. Today, it is a commercial dockyard but British military activity still exists at the British Defence Singapore Support Unit (BDSSU).

Persian Gulf Residency Colonial subdivision of the British-Indian Empire

The Persian Gulf Residency was a subdivision of the British Empire from 1822 until 1971, whereby the United Kingdom maintained varying degrees of political and economic control over several states in the Persian Gulf, including what is today known as the United Arab Emirates and at various times southern portions of Iran, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Qatar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British Forces Brunei</span> British Armed Forces presence in Brunei

British Forces Brunei (BFB) is the name given to the British Armed Forces presence in Brunei Darussalam. Since the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997, the garrison in Brunei is one of the remaining British military bases in the Far East, along with Singapore.

This article deals with territorial disputes between states of in and around the Persian Gulf in Southwestern Asia. These states include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Oman.

An All-Red Route was, originally, a steamship route used by Royal Mail Ships during the heyday of the British Empire. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps. It denoted a long-distance route where all the ports of call were in British territories or colonies, emphasising not only the usefulness of the route as a means of connecting the British metropole with the worldwide empire but also the strategic security of being able to connect possessions on the other side of the globe without having to rely on making stops in, or passing through, the territory of another nation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bahrain–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Bahrain–United Kingdom relations are the bilateral relations between Bahrain and the United Kingdom. Bahrain has an embassy in London and the United Kingdom is one of only four European countries to maintain an embassy in Manama. Bahrain gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1971 and has since maintained strong diplomatic, military and trade relations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Egypt–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

Egypt–United Kingdom relations are the diplomatic, economic, and cultural relationships between Egypt and the United Kingdom. Relations are longstanding. They involve politics, defence, trade and education, and especially issues regarding the Suez Canal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oman–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

The relations between the United Kingdom and Oman are strong and strategic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Kingdom Naval Support Facility</span> British naval base in northeast Bahrain

The United Kingdom Naval Support Facility is a Royal Navy base established in Bahrain on 13 April 1935, as part of the port at Mina Salman. In 1950, the United States Navy leased space in HMS Jufair and following Bahraini independence in 1971, took over the base. On 6 December 2014, it was announced that HMS Jufair would be reestablished as a permanent Royal Navy base. On 5 April 2018, the UK Naval Support Facility was officially opened by the Crown Prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa and The Duke of York, representing the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign Ministry (Oman)</span> Governmental body in the Sultanate of Oman

The Foreign Ministry is the government body in the Sultanate of Oman responsible for organising and directing Oman's relations with other countries and with regional and international organisations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom</span>

Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare and maintain a forward presence. Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance, often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces, as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. Most of the bases are located on British Overseas Territories or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the British government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British foreign policy in the Middle East</span> Overview of the European empires history in the region

British foreign policy in the Middle East has involved multiple considerations, particularly over the last two and a half centuries. These included maintaining access to British India, blocking Russian or French threats to that access, protecting the Suez Canal, supporting the declining Ottoman Empire against Russian threats, guaranteeing an oil supply after 1900 from Middle East fields, protecting Egypt and other possessions in the Middle East, and enforcing Britain's naval role in the Mediterranean. The timeframe of major concern stretches from the 1770s when the Russian Empire began to dominate the Black Sea, down to the Suez Crisis of the mid-20th century and involvement in the Iraq War in the early 21st. These policies are an integral part of the history of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">UK Joint Logistics Support Base</span> British military base in central-eastern Oman

The United Kingdom Joint Logistics Support Base (UKJLSB) is a military base located within the Al Duqm Port and Drydock of Duqm in the Al Wusta governorate of Oman. As a British overseas military base, it is used to facilitate the deployment of the British Armed Forces in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, along with the wider British maritime operations in the region.

References

  1. 1 2 Britain's Retreat from East of Suez: The Choice Between Europe and the World? by Houndmills and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. xv + 293 pp. $65.00 (cloth), ISBN   978-0-333-73236-6, Published on H-Levant (December, 2002)
  2. ↑ "Mandalay" by Rudyard Kipling (1890)
  3. ↑ Oley Speaks (1874–1948) on IMDB
  4. ↑ "The Suez Crisis of 1956". History Learning Site.
  5. ↑ Archives, The National. "Glossary - S". www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
  6. ↑ "The British Empire in Europe". www.britishempire.co.uk.
  7. ↑ Japan's gigantic second world war gamble, Guardian
  8. 1 2 Darwin, John Britain, the Commonwealth and the End of Empire
  9. 1 2 Peterson J. E. Postwar Policy: British Retreat And Imperial Vestiges Archived 2015-04-21 at the Wayback Machine in Defending Arabia. London: Croom Helm; New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986. ISBN   9780312191146
  10. ↑ H-Diplo Article Commentary: McDougall on Benvenuti
  11. ↑ Anglo Libyan relations and the British military facilities 1964-1970 Archived 2013-12-20 at the Wayback Machine by Sean W Straw BA MA, University of Nottingham
  12. ↑ "What Now for Britain?” The State Department’s Intelligence Assessment of the “Special Relationship,” 7 February 1968 by Jonathan Colman
  13. ↑ Pham P. L. Ending 'East of Suez': The British Decision to Withdraw from Malaysia and Singapore
  14. ↑ Shohei Sato Britain's decision to withdraw from the Persian Gulf 1964-68
  15. ↑ Withdrawal from Empire: Britain's Decolonization of Egypt, Aden, and Kenya in the Mid-Twentieth Century - A Monograph by Maj Brian S. Olson, U.S. Army
  16. ↑ The Five Power Defence Arrangements: The Quiet Achiever by Carlyle A. Thayer
  17. ↑ "The New East of Suez Question: Damage Limitation after Failure Over Syria". Royal United Services Institute. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  18. ↑ Gardner, Frank 'East of Suez': Are UK forces returning? BBC News 29 April 2013
  19. ↑ "A Return to East of Suez? UK Military Deployment to the Gulf". Royal United Services Institute. April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  20. ↑ Waterman, Shaun British forces to return to Persian Gulf to fill void from U.S. exit The Washington Times , 29 April 2013
  21. ↑ "The New East of Suez Question: Damage Limitation after Failure Over Syria". Royal United Services Institute. 19 September 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  22. ↑ "East of Suez, West from Helmand: British Expeditionary Force and the next SDSR" (PDF). Oxford Research Group. December 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 July 2015. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  23. ↑ "UK-Bahrain sign landmark defence agreement". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 5 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  24. ↑ "UK to establish £15m permanent Mid East military base". BBC. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
  25. ↑ "PM pledges £178 billion investment in defence kit". Ministry of Defence. 23 November 2015. p. 49. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  26. ↑ "Britain considers stronger military co-operation with Gulf". Financial Times. 8 November 2015. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  27. ↑ "Defence Secretary strengthens ties between UK and Oman". GOV.UK. 28 August 2017. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  28. ↑ "UK and Oman sign historic Joint Defence Agreement". GOV.UK. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  29. ↑ "Union Jack still flies at Britain's last military outpost in Asia | ThingsAsian". thingsasian.com.
  30. ↑ "UK help and services in Singapore - GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Archived from the original on September 14, 2012.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.