In the eyes of some tough people in Australia, only the dismemberment of Indonesia can ensure the safety of northern Australia. Australia has always been behind the separatist forces in Papua and Aceh in Indonesia. This article is from the WeChat public account:Geo-Valley (ID: Geo-Valley) author: time magician, head Figure from: vision China
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The long equator divides the earth into north and south halves. Due to historical and geographic reasons, most countries in the southern hemisphere are relatively backward in economy. But Australia is an exception in the southern hemisphere. Thanks to Britain’s legacy of institutions and talents, coupled with abundant domestic resources, Australia has become a rare developed country in the southern hemisphere.
The bustling Sydney, from poonwainang
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As a major country in the southern hemisphere, Australia has a very far-reaching strategic vision, even extending its tentacles to China far in the northern hemisphere, and often criticizes China’s normal national activities. Although Australia often targets China, it seems that China has become an important opponent of Australia. But the country that most fears Australia and poses a direct threat to Australia is Indonesia.
The shadow of the Japanese people
As the only country in the world that exclusively enjoys the entire continent, Australia has a vast territory with a total area of 7,692 thousand square kilometers.
To monopolize a continent is both Australia’s advantage and Australia’s disadvantage. As it is surrounded by sea, although Australia is not an island country, its geopolitical situation is similar to that of an island country. In addition, an economy that relies heavily on exports will face the danger of collapse once the maritime communication line is cut off.
Due to the harsh climate in most of the interior, it is not suitable for human survival. The vast majority of Australia’s population is distributed only in the narrow coastal areas of the southeast. Although Australia is large, once the war comes, there is almost no way out.
The Great Dividing Range in Australia is named after the warm water vapor that blocks the western Pacific. This is also one of the reasons why the outback of Australia is not suitable for living.net world
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Fortunately, Australia is located in the South Pacific, and there are no strong enemies around it. Therefore, for a long time, Australia has not been very worried about someone invading Australia.
But the outbreak of the Pacific War broke Australia’s long-standing “peace dream”.
“They are coming south!”-A poster for the Australian Conscription of World War II, from shutters
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The Pacific War broke out in 1941, and the Japanese army quickly captured the Indonesian archipelago in northern Australia. This means that there is a huge threat in northern Australia.
Australian troops captured in Papua New Guinea, from shutterstock
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Not long after the occupation of Indonesia, the top Japanese military department formulated a plan to conquer Australia, and dispatched aircraft and submarines from the captured Indonesian archipelago to harass the northern cities of Australia. At the same time, the Japanese navy’s warships are also based in the Indonesian archipelago, preparing to carry out the task of destroying the Australian navy and cutting off the Australian maritime communications.
Japanese bombing of Darwin
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Australian soldiers shirtlessly shooting planes in broad daylight, from shutterstock
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Fortunately, in the end, the main force of the Japanese army and navy was wiped out by the United States, and Australia finally escaped. However, this incident made Australia realize that it must pay attention to the political affairs of the Indonesian archipelago.The change of power can guarantee the security of the country.
The soldiers are also fed up with the attrition caused by the miasma and mosquitoes in the rain forest, from shutterstock
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opposing religions and huge population
Although Australia successfully survived World War II, the changes in the geological environment around Australia after World War II prevented it from letting go of its tight nerves.
After World War II, Britain declined and Australia lost its protection. The Indonesian natives took advantage of the trend of colonial liberation after World War II and drove out the Dutch colonists and established the Republic of Indonesia.
In 1947, Indonesian President Sukarno declared Indonesia’s independence, from shutterstock
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Although Indonesia was established as an independent nation not long ago, its strength cannot be underestimated. Indonesia has a land area of 1,904,556 square kilometers. Although much smaller than Australia, it is already the largest in Southeast Asiacountry.
Not only is Southeast Asia the largest in area, Indonesia is also the most populous country in Southeast Asia. According to statistics in 2010, Indonesia’s population has reached 237 million, second only to China, India and the United States, ranking fourth in the world. The population of Australia, which is much larger than Indonesia, is only over 20 million, less than one-tenth of Indonesia.
The large population makes traffic jams in Jakarta become commonplace
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In addition, Indonesian religious beliefs are also a huge challenge for Australia. Although Indonesia is far from the Middle East, it is a country that believes in Islam. The Islamic faith and a large population make Indonesia the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. And Islam is the opposite of Christianity, which is the mainstream belief in Australia.
Huge followers make Indonesia the world’s largest Muslim country, from blogger
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YesWith established religious beliefs and a large population, such a country is only separated from Australia by water. This makes Australia have a natural fear of Indonesia.
As a country composed of many islands, due to the barrier of the ocean, the people on the islands of Indonesia have shown a relatively independent development, and there are many ethnic groups in the country. How to unify so many ethnic groups in one country is the primary problem that Sukarno, the founding father of Indonesia, has to solve.
In order to unite the people of the whole country, since Sukarno, Indonesia has actively pursued the strategy of external expansion, trying to strengthen domestic unity by focusing on the outside. However, this strategy has caused strong dissatisfaction in Australia, which has cast a shadow over the relationship between Indonesia and Australia.
Dispute from New Guinea to East Timor
Indonesia’s primary target for external expansion is the island of New Guinea (Irian Island) located in the eastern part of the country. Once it controls New Guinea, then Indonesia can control the entire Banda Sea. Moreover, Indonesia believes that since the West Irian area in the western part of New Guinea was originally part of Dutch Indonesia, the western part of New Guinea should be taken over by Indonesia.
In Australia’s eyes, the island of New Guinea is an important barrier to the northern part of the Australian mainland and an important part of Australia’s defense of its own security. During the war, Japan tried to use New Guinea as a springboard to attack Australia.
The primary goal of the Australian army during World War II was to attack the Japanese army using New Guinea as a springboard, from shutterstock
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After World War II, Australia temporarily took over the southeastern part of New Guinea. Australia believes that if Indonesia occupies the West Irian area, Indonesia will directly border Australia’s sphere of influence, and at the same time it will make territorial claims for the West Irian area. Once Indonesia controls the entire island of New Guinea, it means that Indonesia has a springboard to attack Australia.
For this reason, Australia has repeatedly opposed the transfer of the sovereignty of the West Irian region to Indonesia on many occasions in the international community, this has severely intensified the conflict between Indonesia and Australia.
In order to seek support, Sukarno actively moved closer to the Soviet Union, trying to obtain the West Irian area through Soviet support. In order to prevent Indonesia from falling to the Soviet Union, the United States decided to intervene in the West Irian dispute. In the end, Indonesia and the Netherlands reached an agreement. The Netherlands handed over the West Irian area to the United Nations in 1962, and the United Nations transferred the West Irian area to Indonesia a year later.
Khrushchev, who smiles like a child, thinks he has harvested another important chess piece in Southeast Asia, but Sukarno is also playing Khrushchev As a chess piece, from shutterstock
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In addition to the dispute in the West Irian region, Australia is also actively involved in Indonesia and MalaysiaDispute. As Malaysia is far away from Australia, and Malaysia has better relations with the West. Although it is also an Islamic country, Australia has fully supported Malaysia in line with the strategy of “distant diplomacy and close attack”.
In 1964, the conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia intensified, and Sukarno sent troops directly to attack Malaysia. In order to support Malaysia, Australia has also sent troops to Sarawak and Sabah to confront the Indonesian troops who invaded Malaysia. At the same time, Australia has also strengthened its military defenses in areas adjacent to Indonesia, and declared to purchase a large number of weapons from the United States, putting on a decisive battle with Indonesia.
At that time, Australia’s “Sydney” aircraft carrier was also ready at Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, and Indonesia may not be able to please it. From shutterstock
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In the end, the war did not start, and Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia reached a settlement under the mediation of the international community.
The Australian 3rd Battalion stationed in Malaysia boarded the plane to prevent the penetration of Indonesian troops. This fierce posture that ended in person eventually bluffed Sukarno. From shutterstock