East of Suez
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East of Suez was a term used in British military and political discussions. It referred to Imperial interests beyond the European theatre (sometimes including, sometime excluding the Middle East). Strategically the empire military infrastructure was based upon 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. With the end of empire, starting with Indian Independence (1947), a gradual draw down of the military presence "east of Suez" started, culminating in the early 1970s with a definitive decision to close the major military bases and fleet commitments in Asia (primarily in Malaysia and Singapore).
Despite this the UK is still part of the Five Power Defence Arrangement and a participant in exercises. It maintains a Jungle Warfare School in Brunei, a Gurkha unit along with some helicopter of the Army Air Corps. There were several units in Hong Kong prior to handover in 1997.
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