This book examines the hitherto under-explored subject of Commonwealth defence relations with Malaysia and Singapore. It is a case study of intra-alliance politics spanning that period when the Anglo–Malaysian Defence Agreement (AMDA) constituted the formal context for the provision of external security. This unique military alliance embracing an anchor power (Britain), two associates (Australia and New Zealand), and two recipients of alliance security (Malaysia and Singapore) was built on a British guarantee to defend the Malaysia–Singapore region. The process by which that defence guarantee was transformed into a loose five-power arrangement which limited the liability of the external powers took nearly fourteen years to run its course. I have not attempted any ‘grand theorising’ in this book. It is hoped however that some understanding of the process of transformation of an alliance system from birth, through consolidation, extension and decline, to demise will be conveyed.

The purpose of this study is to follow the thread of policies of the five AMDA allies to explain the unfolding interaction of national interests and consequential diplomatic manoeuvrings. While resisting the temptation to digress from the central enquiry into the life cycle of a little-known alliance, I have tried to avoid an extended discussion of the changes in the wider regional environment, such as the vicissitudes of the Vietnam war or the redefinition of policies of the other major powers towards the region.