Far East Strategic Reserve

The British Commonwealth Far East Strategic Reserve (commonly referred to as the Far East Strategic Reserve or the FESR) was a joint military force of the British, Australian, and New Zealand armed forces. Created in the 1950s and based in Malaya, the FESR was conceived as a forward defence point for Australia and New Zealand, while protecting Commonwealth interests in the Southeast Asian region from both internal and external communist threats. The FESR was made up of an infantry brigade and a carrier group, supported by squadrons of aircraft.

The FESR originated from a June 1953 letter from Harold Alexander, the British Minister of Defence, to Philip McBride and Tom Macdonald, his equivalents in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. The letter suggested the creation of a joint military force based in South-East Asia and tasked with protecting strategically important Commonwealth interests in the region (namely Sarawak, North Borneo, Malaya and Singapore), from the threat of attack by communist forces. The freeing up of military resources following the end of the Korean War was another factor.

Correspondence between the defence ministers of the three nations and their subordinates led to a meeting in Melbourne, Australia during October 1953. From this meeting, it was decided to create the FESR: a multinational force consisting of Army, Navy, and Air Force units from the three nations' armed forces. It was not until 1955 that the Reserve was established.

The FESR consisted of a brigade-strength infantry force known as 28th British Commonwealth Brigade and a carrier battle group, supported by land- and ship-based fighter and bomber squadrons. The Strategic Reserve's primary role was to protect Malaya and other Commonwealth interests in Southeast Asia from attack by external communist forces, with operations against internal communist organisations listed as the secondary role.

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