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Chapter 4 - Routes to Independence

How did the colonial masters react to their respective countries' sudden independence? [i.e. colonial

master's POV]

Vietnam Indonesia Malaya

Negotiation Early stages -

6 March 1946 Agreement.

Agreed to see Ho Chi Minh and

set a clear resolution for him.

France demands Ho Chi Minh to

allow 15000 French troops to

Hanoi in return for partial

independence and a member of

French Union. Failed and resulted

into anarchical approach.

Early stages -

10 February 1946 Dutch

Proposal. It was a proposal that

granted all Indonesians

citizenship, but only if they

become a partner in the Dutch

Kingdom to oversee its

administrative affairs ; partial

indepndence. Rejected.

Linggajati Peace Agreement

(1947) comprises of 16 states

into a federation. 15 by Dutch, 1

by the nationalist.

(Outnumbered despite being the

most prominent and important).

States given option of joining the

United States of Indonesia

(promote economic, political

matters, etc) . Rejected and led

to war.

UMNO negotiated with the

British under Federation of

Malaya Agreement (1948) -

Include Malaya states to a

Federation, restore power to the

Sultan (with advice of the British

colonial government) and

citizenship for Malays strictly

(some non-Malays too.).

Anarchical

approach/ViolenceBattle of Dien Bien Phu (1954)

Before of Battle of Dien Bien Phu,

it was the Operation Mouette, an

operation that indirectly causedBattle of Dien Bien Phu as the

French wanted to destroy

commander Giap's forces.

Battle of Surabaya (1945)

The Dutch, after being attacked

by the pemuda, resisted them by

overwhelming them.

They enlisted the British to assist

them in the battle. (Not in TB ,

brief analysis.)

-

Pre-preparation of

country's

independence

Nil. They had no intention at all,

but changing circumstances

forced them to grant them partial

independence.

Nil. They had no intention at all,

but changing circumstances

forced them to grant them

partial independence

Yes. Planned the Malayan Union

(1946) to ensure equal

citizenship to Malays and non-

Malays. Power will be

concentrated in the central

government at Kuala Lumpur.

Sultan's rights were limited to

Islamic affairs due to the fact

they helped the Japanese during

WWII. Made an uproar from theMalay community.

Conclusion: ?

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How did the Nationalists achieve independence? [i.e. nationalist's POV]

Vietnam Indonesia Malaya

Negotiation Ho Chi Minh declareindependence and chooses

negotiations with the French to

secure his countrysindependence.

(6 March 1946 Agreement - HCM

allow French troops return to

Hanoi, but French granted partial

independence only.).

The nationalist leaders in

Indonesia choose diplomacy over

violence first. Sjahrir opened

discussions with the Dutch in1946. (10 Feb 1946 Dutch

Proposal), since Sjahrir was not

seen as a traitor to the Dutch as

he vehemently denied to assist

the Japanese during WWII.

The Federation of Malaya

Agreement (1948). UMNO

negotiated with the British for an

alternative to the Malayan Union.

Violence (Armed

Struggle)First Indo China War (8 years of

guerilla warfare against the

French). Battle of Dien Bien Phu

(1954). The French lost due to

them underestimating Vietnam's

strength and technology

(courtesy of China + USSR), bad

position and bad strategy to

defend, and this consequentlyled to their defeat.

The Battle of Surabaya. In Nov

1945, fights broke out between

supporters of Indonesia and the

Allied forces. First Police Action

(1947), the Dutch tried to put an

end to the fighting by launching a

police action to wipe out the

pemuda (youth). Second Police

Action (1948) , caught Soekarnoand Hatta during toppling of the

Republic.

The war against the communists.

The communists were defeated

only after a sustained fight, the

MalayanEmergency, for about 12 years.

Led by Strong

Nationalists

Leaders

Led by several influential

communists like Ho Chi Minh

who instill communist belief in

the citizens to convince them

into fighting war for

independence, and free from

colonial rule. Alongside, with Vo

Nguyen Giap, or commander

Giap

The older nationalists are strong.

E.g. Soekarno, Hatta and Sjahrir

as they were experienced and

tactful. Channeled the pemuda

against the Dutch, whom they

feel that the pemuda can be

placed to more logical and

meaningful purpose.

Dato Onn Jaafar wanted UMNO

to be open to the Chinese and

Indians but UMNO members

were not ready to accept this. His

successor, Abdul Rahman saw a

way around this by forming a

political alliance with the Malayan

Chinese Association called the

Alliance Party. The coalition

proved to be popular among the

people, later joined by the

Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) in1955, representing the Indian

communityOutcome was

affected by Cold

War

South Vietnam enters the cold

war. SEATO was formed to

defend the non communists

nations from the threat of

communist expansion, thus post

as a challenge to North Vietnam.

This made the USA turn

aggressive towards Vietnam, they

see it as a threat, and it proved to

be a worthy obstacle towards

independence.

The Dutch alleged that Indonesia

was controlled by the

communists, due to the Cold War

tensions. There was a communist

revolt in 1948 but was rapidly

stopped by Hatta and Soekarno.This helped the leaders to win

support from USA, and

subsequently helped to gain

independence.

Malayan Emergency : Local

communist communicated with

China communist to assist them

(to a limited extent). Australian

helped the British as an SEATO

ally and provided land and air

forces to them.

Communist asthe mainstream

group

Ho Chi Minh and Viet Minh. TheViet Minh fought for Vietnam

independence such as Battle of

Dien Bien Phu. North Vietnam,

communist, continued to fight

for independence despite South

Vietnam under the control of the

anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem.

Nil (Leaders such as Hatta andSoekarno are non communists -

proven by the Communist Revolt

in 1948)

Nil (UMNO, MCA and MIC - allusing non-communist

approaches.)

Racial Relations

was an obstacle

Nil. All the Vietnamese were

under one common race, and

To a limited extent. The

Indonesians at different parts of

The Malays devoted their loyalty

to the Sultans. The Chinese and

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to an early date

by

independence

they stand unified together and

overcome this step easily.the island felt insecure due to

different religions and

perspective, and voiced their

opinion about merging together

as one state.

Indians were mostly immigrants,

and their integration with local

society was not complete. They

do not regard themselves as

Malayans, but rather themselves

as Chinese, Indians, and Malays.Conclusion : All

three countries,

despite taking

different routes

to

independence,

they all have to

achieve total

independence

and recognition

by diplomatic

terms with their

colonial powers.

They had the

power to

negotiate as

shown in several

Agreements like

Vietnam's

Geneva Peace

Accord (1954)

and Indonesia's

Linggajati Peace

Agreement

(1947) and the

Federation of

Malaya

Agreement in

Malaya (1956).

Despite having

some violent

tension in all of

the countries,

but ultimately,

they came to a

conclusion that

negotiation

solves the root

of the problem.

[SBQ] Was Singapores path to independence difficult?

1. Political rivalry before 1963

o Intra-party rivalry UMNO v.s. PAP ideologies.

o Inter-party rivalry Communists v.s. non-communists in PAP.

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2. Strikes and Riots before 1963

o Maria Hertogh Riots - Catholics v.s. Muslims. Created religious tension.

o Hock Lee Bus Riots - Worker pays low - Employees go on strike (idea by MCP), made British think that David Marshall is weak.

o Anti-National Service Riot (Chinese School Riots) - Conscripted 2.5k youth. Youth opposed, MCP exploited to win their

support. Created communist tension/

3. Constitutional Discussions

o Rendel Constitution, 1953 - Legislative Assembly (32 members - 25 elected and 7 British). Leader of the party : Chief Minister.

David Marshall won 10 seats in 1955 Elections...

o Merdeka Talks, 1956-58 - Malaya's independence (all citizenship, etc) - leading Singapore tempted to merge with Malaya.

4. Merger and Separation, 1963-65

o Political rivalry - Differing ideologies. LKY 'Malaysians Malaysia.' Tunku 'Malays Malaysia.'

o Riots - Racial Riots (1964) - Malay v.s. Chinese. Resulting factor for separation.

o Constitutional discussions and disputes

o Elections