Konfrontasi, 1963-1966

H2 History - syllabus 9174, 2027

What this lesson teaches

  • I can judge why tensions arose between Southeast Asian states and how they affected the region.

    Syllabus 9174, Paper 2, Theme III, Learning Outcomes. evaluate the causes and consequences of inter-state tensions on inter-state relations and the region

Make a guess

Indonesia's Sukarno opposed the creation of Malaysia in 1963. How do you think he did it?

  1. By taking the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
  2. Through raids, subversion and propaganda, short of full war.
  3. By declaring full-scale war and invading Malaysia.
Show the answer

Through raids, subversion and propaganda, short of full war.

Konfrontasi used armed raids into Borneo and the peninsula. It ended after Suharto replaced Sukarno.

Indonesia opposed the creation of Malaysia with a campaign of raids and subversion. It ended when Suharto replaced Sukarno, and the reconciliation helped create ASEAN.

In 1961 Malaya's prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, proposed a federation of Malaya, Singapore and the British Borneo territories. Britain supported it as a way to leave its colonies while keeping a friendly, anti-communist state.

Sukarno denounced Malaysia as a British "neo-colonial" scheme. Indonesia had backed a revolt in Brunei in December 1962, and in January 1963 it announced a policy of "confrontation".

In mid-1963 the leaders of Malaya, Indonesia and the Philippines met in Manila. They agreed to a UN survey of opinion in Sabah and Sarawak, and to a loose grouping called Maphilindo. But Malaysia was proclaimed on 16 September 1963, and Indonesia and the Philippines refused to recognise it.

Indonesia sent guerrillas across the Borneo border, landed troops in peninsular Malaysia in 1964, and set off bombs in Singapore. British and Commonwealth forces defended Malaysia. In January 1965 Indonesia left the UN when Malaysia took a seat on the Security Council.

After the coup attempt of 1965, the army under Suharto took power and lost interest in the campaign. Talks in Bangkok led to an agreement in August 1966 that ended Konfrontasi. A year later, Indonesia and Malaysia were founding members of ASEAN.

Malaysia formed
16 September 1963.
Indonesia leaves the UN
January 1965.
Konfrontasi ends
August 1966.

Worked example: Explaining Konfrontasi

Why did Indonesia confront Malaysia?

  1. Ideology: opposition to "neo-colonialism" and British bases.
  2. Ambition: Sukarno's wish to lead the region.
  3. Domestic politics: rallying the army and the PKI behind him.
  4. Grievance: Malaysia proclaimed just after the UN survey, on a date fixed before it ended.

Watch out for this

Konfrontasi was a full-scale war between Indonesia and Malaysia.

It was an undeclared, low-level conflict of raids, infiltration and bombings. Both sides avoided all-out war.

Check your understanding

How did Konfrontasi end?

  1. After Suharto took power, talks led to an agreement in August 1966.
  2. Malaysia invaded Indonesian Borneo and forced Sukarno to accept a ceasefire.
  3. The UN imposed a settlement in 1963.
Show the answer

After Suharto took power, talks led to an agreement in August 1966.

Right. The new leaders wanted peace and Western aid.

Sources and context

Background reading for this chapter.

  • An American estimate of the Malaysia plan

    Paraphrase of a US Special National Intelligence Estimate, "Prospects for Malaysia", 20 February 1963.

  • An American estimate of confrontation

    Paraphrase of a US National Intelligence Estimate, "The Malaysian-Indonesian Conflict", 30 October 1963.

  • Sukarno explains his position

    Paraphrase of a telegram from the US Ambassador in Jakarta, Howard Jones, reporting a conversation with President Sukarno, 10 April 1964.

  • Malaysia reacts to a Philippine plot over Sabah

    Paraphrase of an intelligence note from the US State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research to Secretary of State Rusk, 26 March 1968.

  • Cambodia explains its break with Thailand

    Paraphrase of a US State Department record of a conversation with the Cambodian Ambassador, Nong Kimny, 1 December 1958.

  • The separation agreement guarantees the water agreements

    Paraphrase of section 14 of the Malaysian act annexed to the agreement on the separation of Singapore from Malaysia, signed on 7 August 1965 and registered in the United Nations Treaty Series.

  • an American official on the Manila summit, August 1963

    Extract from a memorandum from Roger Hilsman, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, to Secretary of State Dean Rusk, Washington, 2 August 1963, written while the leaders of Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines were meeting in Manila. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 332. A US government document in the public domain.

  • Washington talks to General Nasution, December 1963

    Extract from a telegram from the State Department (signed by Secretary of State Rusk) to the US embassy in Indonesia, 7 December 1963, reporting talks in Washington with General Nasution, Indonesia's Defence Minister, during Konfrontasi. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 324. A US government document in the public domain.

  • the President is briefed on the temple ruling, July 1962

    Extract from a memorandum from Carl Kaysen, deputy national security adviser, to President Kennedy, Washington, 12 July 1962, and the volume editors' note on it. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1961-1963, volume XXIII, document 456. A US government publication in the public domain.

  • the State Department on Indonesia's new course, June 1966

    Extract from a State Department paper on Indonesia attached to a memorandum from Walt Rostow to President Johnson, Washington, 8 June 1966, a week after Indonesian and Malaysian delegations led by Adam Malik and Abdul Razak met in Bangkok. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968, volume XXVI, document 210. A US government document in the public domain.

  • a cartoon about the Manila summit, August 1963

    An original cartoon drawn for these notes in the style of a regional newspaper cartoon published in August 1963, during and after the Manila summit of Indonesia, Malaya and the Philippines, which asked the UN Secretary-General to find out the wishes of the people of Sabah and Sarawak. It is not a copy of a real cartoon.

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