Causes of the Vietnam war

There are many explanations as to why Australia had participated in a war that was not their own. Australia had become involved in the Vietnam despite the casualties of joining a war, economically and military.

One of the major attributes for Australia’s involvement in the war was the spread of communism. This was acted out through the Domino Theory, whereby if Vietnam were to succumb under the communist rule, then sooner or later it would reach Australia. Australians believed that once Vietnam fell under the communist rule, then so will Cambodia, the Thailand, then Malaysia, then Indonesia until it will eventually reach Australia.

There were also two significant treaties created, the SEATO and the ANZUS Treaty. The South East Asian Treaty Organisation (SEATO) was established specifically for South East countries. This was introduced to put a stop to the oncoming spread of communism. ANZUS (sort for Australia, New Zealand and the United States) was a treaty that united the three countries in the Pacific Ocean region. Australia had realised how vulnerable it was and decided that it was best if there were countries that would come to their assistance since Australia had no borders.

Australia wanted to form an alliance with America, since during that time America had become evolved as one of the strongest nations.  America had become a world leader due to their updated armed sources and strong military. Australia was in need of America due to any future complications whereby they needed assistance. Australia needed strong support, which led Prime Minister Harold Holt to say, “…all the way with LBJ.” This is a well-known quote from Prime Minister Harold Holt, as it proves that Australia was keen to support America in all their decisions, which would guarantee Australia a powerful partner.

Prime Minister Harold Holt

Since the Vietnam War was televised, this caused conscription to be introduced in 1964 by the Liberal party. This was because many people were reluctant to join after seeing the gruesome images. Conscription is basically compulsory military service where your opinion on whether or not you want to join does not matter. Men over the age of 20 were forced to join the army purely based on their birthdates which were randomly selected. This initiated chaos among many civilians, who responded by protesting in numerous ways.