Admiral Beez
Major
Which returns us to my question above, how did Australia benefit from its connections to Britain in the interwar and WW2 years?you have to remember that Britain still controlled most of Australias foreign affairs and tax and finance...Churchill was draining the Aus treasury to buy goods for Britain.
Australia has two needs here, first they want to diplomatically reduce the threat of war with Japan (by recognizing Manchukuo or otherwise helping Japan step down in China), second, RAN wants to procure modern fighter planes. It seemed that Britain was unwilling or unable to assist in either. I just can't see how Britain ever helped protect Australia during the 20th Century. During WW1 it was Japan and Australia that seized Germany's territory in the Pacific, Britain didn't appear to lift a finger.
![omniatlas.com](/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fomniatlas-1598b.kxcdn.com%2Fmedia%2Fimg%2Farticles%2Fmain%2Fasia-pacific%2Fasia-pacific19141010.png&hash=b8467b01a922213648e5788934e0daef&return_error=1)
Historical Atlas of Asia Pacific (10 October 1914): Conquest of the German Pacific
When World War I broke out in Europe, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance meant that Japan sided with the British against Germany. Together with the British dominions of Australia and New Zealand, the Japanese quickly conquered Germany's Pacific empire.
With Australians and Japanese fighting together (or separately nearby) in WW1 it's no wonder the former sought to find common ground with the latter. One thing for certain, once HM QE2 dies Canberra will be pushing for a Republic Australia. I'm a Brit-born Canuck and appreciate the connections with the Crown, but if I could understand the Australian POV.
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