This book describes British policy in Southeast Asia in the early years of World War II. With its military strength directed against Germany, Britain drew on diplomatic resources to maintain its power in the area and to limit the Japanese threat. The book focuses on Britain's relations with America, Dutch India, the Philippines, French Indo-China and Thailand. Nicholas Tarling's extensive analysis of British archives, and documentary material on the foreign policies of other states makes this an important reinterpretation of the origins of the Pacific war.