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## Vietnam War A peace agreement in 1954 ended the conflict between France and Vietnam, and resulted in the division of the country into two independent states: communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam. The French left Vietnam in 1956 and this marked the end of French colonial rule i...

## Vietnam War A peace agreement in 1954 ended the conflict between France and Vietnam, and resulted in the division of the country into two independent states: communist North Vietnam and non-communist South Vietnam. The French left Vietnam in 1956 and this marked the end of French colonial rule in the country. Despite the peace agreement, fighting continued as the governments of both North and South Vietnam were determined to reunify the country under their own rule. This conflict became known as the Vietnam War. ## British Military Withdrawal from Singapore Aside from the regional and international conflicts, Singapore also had to address the challenge posed by the withdrawal of British forces. Since 1819, Singapore had relied on the British Empire to defend it against external threats. With the majority of troops coming from Britain, India and Australia, although local volunteer troops had been recruited and trained from 19th century onwards, they were small in number. You learnt how British plans to develop Singapore as a major naval base in the 1920s and 1930s to better protect British interests in Asia. This remained central to the British defence strategy after World War II, and Singapore's role as a military base expanded in the 1950s. British warships were stationed in Singapore's naval base and modern airbases were created. Thousands of British and Commonwealth servicemen were also stationed in Singapore. A present-day photograph of a house on the former military base in the 1950s to accommodate British officers and their families. Military aircraft at Royal Air Force (RAF) Changi, 1962, an important British airbase in the 1950s and 1960s. Part of the airbase was later converted into Changi Airport. To prevent a communist victory, the United States committed vast military resources to support South Vietnam in the war. It was around this time, as the Vietnam War was escalating, that Singapore gained independence. Like the other non-communist governments in Southeast Asian countries, the Singapore government feared that the fighting would spread to the rest of the region and destabilise Singapore. South Vietnam eventually fell to North Vietnam in 1975, bringing an end to the Vietnam War.