ABSTRACT
During the First World War, British intelligence played a significant role in imperial defence by keeping foreign subversion out of India. They insisted on continuing the work of Robert Nathan, their chief intelligence officer in North America, and the subsidy which they paid toward MI1c's operation in America. In British eyes, the new Russian threat at this time by no means outweighed the potential danger from Japan, and so the anti-Japanese orientation of imperial intelligence in the Far East continued after the war. The Indian revolutionary problem was the main stimulus in this direction. In China, the Shanghai Intelligence Bureau continued to operate, as did the Indian secret service. The complex of British intelligence organizations in the Far East was provided by the involvement of MI1c, the secret service. The Malayan Bureau was not set up until 1922 because the financial situation in Malaya prohibited large-scale expenditure on intelligence.
