British military and political discussions coined the term East of Suez. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It referred to imperial interests beyond the European theatre (sometimes including, sometime excluding the Middle East). The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. Previously, the empire's military infrastructure drew on sea lanes of communication through the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal and round the Cape to India and on to East Asia and Australia. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British With the end of empire, which began with Indian independence (1947), there was a gradual draw down of the military presence "east of Suez". In 1967, Prime Minister Harold Wilson and his Defence Secretary, Denis Healey, announced that British troops will be withdrawn in 1971 from major military bases in South East Asia, primarily in Malaysia, Singapore and Aden. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. Denis Winston Healey Baron Healey, CH, MBE, PC (born 30 August 1917 is a British Life peer and Labour politician For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Singapore Aden (ˈeɪdən Arabic: عدن) is a city in Yemen, 170 kilometers east of Bab-el-Mandeb.
In June 1970, Edward Heath's government came to power and retained a small political and military commitment to South East Asia through the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Sir Edward Richard George Heath, KG, MBE (9 July 1916 &ndash 17 July 2005 often known as Ted Heath, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Five Power Defence Arrangements ( FPDA) are a series of defence relationships established by bilateral agreements between the United Kingdom, Australia, Prior to the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to China, Britain based several units in Hong Kong. The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, often referred to as the Handover British Forces Overseas Hong Kong consisted of the elements of the British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders
As of 2007, Britain maintains the School of Jungle Warfare in Brunei and a battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, in addition to some aircraft of the Army Air Corps. Brunei Darussalam, (bruːˈnaɪ in English officially the State of Brunei Abode of Peace (Negara Brunei Darussalam Jawi: برني دارالسلام The Royal Gurkha Rifles (RGR is a Regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. The Army Air Corps is a component of the British Army, first formed in 1942 There is also a small British military presence remaining on Diego Garcia in the British Indian Ocean Territory. Diego Garcia is the largest Atoll, in terms of land area in Chagos Archipelago, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory.