ABSTRACT
The military thrust of Confrontation began in April 1963 with army 'volunteer' groups mounting raids across the Kalimantan border into Sarawak and Sabah. Confrontation could divert public attention from the economic troubles in Indonesia. Ironically, the end of Confrontation was accompanied by the separation of Singapore from Malaysia. The separation agreement provided for economic, political and foreign policy cooperation between Malaysia and Singapore, and People's Action Party (PAP) leaders hoped the breach might soon be healed. The PAP campaigned on the mainland in the March 1964 federal election in an attempt to supplant the conservative Malay Chinese Association in the allegiance of the Chinese population of Malaya. The Australian government in 1964 was eager to join the contest because of its belief in Chinese complicity in the war and the threat to Australia that would flow from expanding Chinese influence in Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia.
