There were many reasons that contributed to Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. These consisted of a fear of communism, the need to support the USA and other allies and the views of Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies. While none of these had a great enough influence themselves, the combination of multiple factors were what brought about Australia’s association with the Vietnam War.
The most prominent reason for Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was the country’s fear of communism. This was most clearly demonstrated through the use of effective and persuasive propaganda that depicted communism as a disease, or leaders such as Stalin as a spider with a web capturing the countries falling prey to communism. This government propaganda was helpful in gaining support for the war by the Australian public who learned to fear communism themselves. Australia was also opposed to the idea of the country falling to communism because of what it would bring. It would mean totalitarian rule, in which the country would come under the rule of a dictator, freedom of assembly, media and speech would be revoked and censored and the social classes would be obliterated. This would mean people were no longer able to work for their money or own a business, which consequently could bring about uprisings and protests as people struggle to grasp their new ways of equality. The increase in rules and regulations would come as a rude shock to the Australian public who had lived in a democratic society for so long. Finally, the switch to a communist government would mean a breaking of the country’s ties to capitalist allies such as America and Great Britain, who had been needed by Australia throughout WWI and WWII. Australia needed to become involved in the Vietnam War to remove the threat of communism and furthermore their fear for it.
Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War was also due to the theory of the ‘Domino Effect’ and the country’s concerns over Indonesia. The Domino Effect was the idea that as communism spread south it was ‘knocking over’ countries as if they were dominoes. Australia felt threatened by this theory because it would be harder to retain capitalism the more neighbouring countries fell to communism. Therefore, Australia needed to adopt the US policy of forward defence in order to keep the war out of the country. They believed it was essential to keep the fight in Asia, and it were better to be defeated there than to fight on Australian shores. Furthermore, Australia was legally bound by two treaties that meant they had to protect the other countries to ensure their own protection: the SEATO and ANZUS treaties. However, Australia also held concerns over neighbouring country Indonesia and their unpredictable leader. Prime Minister Sukarno was linked to a large communism party that made his country the main defence concerns of Australia in the 1960s.The events that were occurring in nearby countries influenced Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
Prime Minister Robert Menzies and his support for America was also a contributing factor to Australia’s reasons for involvement in the Vietnam War. Menzies had a long history of action against communism in Korea and the Australian public was well aware of his negative views of the ideology. He was a strong supporter of the US policy of containment, which aimed to control communism by keeping it in Europe and Asia instead of spreading to Australia and America. This is supported by the capitalism view of communism as a ‘disease’ as if it required quarantine to stop its spread. Menzies’s support for America was further demonstrated when they, along with the South Vietnamese government, requested Australia’s aid in the war. Menzies was quick to respond to this call for help to prove that Australia was worthy of being under the American ‘wing’ and would support this ally to ensure Australia’s own protection in return, which is why it was vital that close ties remained between the two countries. Robert Menzies and the need to support America was one of the reasons for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War.
Australia’s reasons for involvement in the Vietnam War consisted of a variety of influences that, combined, created a strong justification as to why troops should be sent there. While a fear of communism made a large contribution to these reasons, the necessity to protect Australia’s allies and the rule of Robert Menzies were also major reasons as to why the country should become involved in the Vietnam War.