Abstract
This article investigates the little-known plans formulated by Harold Wilson's Labour government to deploy Polaris submarines in the Indo-Pacific region. The scheme was first proposed in 1965 as a response to several problems faced by British policy-makers, including China's acquisition of a nuclear capability, Britain's wish to maintain a meaningful position ‘East of Suez’ at reduced cost, and German pressure for equal treatment within NATO on nuclear matters. Despite extensive high-level discussion, the plans were finally abandoned in mid-1968, as Labour moved more decisively to forsake the world role.
Highlights
The late 1960s were a time of retreat for Britain on the world stage
By 1970 Britain seemed set on a future in the European Community, its defence efforts focused on NATO
War in Europe was unlikely, whereas Asia was unstable, and Britain had a long-standing presence in the Indian Ocean that gave it significance in American eyes
Summary
Title: Polaris, East of Suez: British plans for a Nuclear Force in the Indo-Pacific, 1964-68. Biographical notes : John Young is Professor of International History at the University of Nottingham and author of Twentieth Century Diplomacy : a case study in British practice, 1963-76 (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Matthew Jones is Professor of American Foreign Relations at the University of Nottingham, currently seconded to the Cabinet Office to write the official history of the Chevaline programme. His book After Hiroshima: The United States, Race, and Nuclear Weapons in Asia,1945-1965 is forthcoming with Cambridge University Press. Length of article (minus the 100-word opening abstract the Journal requires) is 9,887 words
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