When asked to name a war or conflict New Zealand was involved in, most people point to World War I (WWI) and World War II (WWII) where 240,000 New Zealanders served. This common response reflects New Zealand’s significant contribution and the impact those conflicts had on our communities. However, there have been several other conflicts since WWII which have escaped the memory of many New Zealanders.

The Korean War and the Vietnam War are the most well-known of New Zealand’s post-WWII conflicts, bookending several smaller conflicts in Asia from the late 1940s to the early 1970s. New Zealand participated in these conflicts as part of a broader British effort to maintain stability in South East Asia as various countries gained independence in the post-war years.¹

These conflicts often blur together for those unfamiliar with the details, being localised in South East Asia, and involving cross-border actions. Naming consistencies arise as different groups use various names for the conflicts based on their own experiences. For example, the Brunei Revolt, is referred to as an independent event by some sources, while appearing as a precursor or even under the umbrella of larger conflicts in others.²

Online Cenotaph has used a variety of names for these conflicts, and you can view a full list of those we use on the ‘Browse’ and ‘Custom Search’ pages. These names, while not perfect, reflect a range of sources including veterans, historians, and the New Zealand Defence Force.

Below is a summary of these conflicts, with links to keyword searches in the database.

The Malayan Emergency

This conflict was fought in the Federation of Malaya, now called Malaysia, from 1948 to 1960. Forces of the Federation of Malaya and the United Kingdom were aided by deployments from Australia, New Zealand, and a collection of other British colonies as they fought to put down the pro-independence movement led by the Malayan National Liberation Army, a communist guerilla force. In 1957 the Federation of Malaya became independent, and with dwindling strength and the loss of their major platform, the MNLA lost relevancy, and the Emergency ended by 1960.

Malaya (1960-64)

Although the Malayan Emergency had ended, New Zealanders remained on active service in Malaya. Communist terrorists had retreated to the Malaya/Thailand border after the Emergency and continued their activities there.³ New Zealanders served on operations there from 1960 to 1964, and this deployment is often referred to colloquially by veterans as the Thai Border Operations.

The Brunei Revolt

In December 1962, republican insurgents launched a rebellion against the Bruneian government, opposing the plan for Brunei to join the proposed state of Malaysia. Indonesia, who also wanted to stop the formation of the new state, supported the rebels with supplies, however the revolt was unsuccessful and lasted less than a fortnight. It is often considered a precursor to the Borneo Confrontation, though some sources include it as an early part of the conflict. No New Zealand forces were deployed to Brunei during the revolt, but Online Cenotaph has one New Zealander (Raymond John Andrews) who was recorded as serving there with British forces.

The Indonesian Confrontation

The Indonesian Confrontation is also known as the Borneo Confrontation, the Indonesia-Malaysia Confrontation, and the Konfrontasi, and occurred between 1963 and 1966. It began with Indonesian objections to the merging of the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, and the British colonies of North Borneo and Sarawak to form the state of Malaysia in 1962. The Indonesian government objected to the formation of the new state on the grounds that Malaysia would become a puppet state of the United Kingdom, expanding British influence in South East Asia.⁴

Indonesia responded to the formation of the new state with military incursions into North Borneo, and later with attacks on the Malay Peninsula itself. Malaysia received support from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand during the Confrontation. Although we previously listed the Malay Peninsula as a conflict on Online Cenotaph and had it as a searchable term on the database, we recently changed this to reflect its status as a campaign of the wider Confrontation (1963-66).

The Konfrontasi is the conflict with the most contested naming. The Online Cenotaph currently uses two names for the conflict: the Indonesian Confrontation, and the Borneo Confrontation. Although not strictly accurate, as Borneo was a campaign within the conflict rather than the conflict itself, most service in the region occurred in Borneo, making it a common term among veterans. In our records, servicepeople who served in the Confrontation have the embarkation term for either Borneo or Malaya, or in some cases both campaigns.

Thailand (1962-1971)

Amidst fears that Thailand would be invaded by the communist regime in neighbouring Laos, New Zealand deployed around 300 members of the armed forces to northeastern Thailand. In co-operation with forces from America, the United Kingdom, and Australia, the New Zealanders helped the Thai military to construct infrastructure including roads and an airfield in the region. While the fears of an invasion never eventuated, the New Zealanders were considered to have served in an ‘unstable environment with ongoing risks from insurgency’, and their service was recognised as operational.⁵

South East Asia (1959-1974)

New Zealanders from all three branches of the armed forces were stationed in Singapore during this period as members of the Far East Strategic Reserve (FESR) or with the Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom force (ANZUK).⁶ As part of these postings, they provided support for forces involved in conflicts occurring in the region. While they were there in a support capacity and often weren’t in combat, these servicepeople were considered a vital part of New Zealand’s military role in South East Asia, and their service has since been recognised as operational.