 patrolling in and near the CT jungle bases , as part of 28th British Commonwealth Brigade . Contact with the enemy was infrequent and results small , achieving relatively few kills . 2 RAR left Malaysia October 1957 to be replaced by 3 RAR . 3 RAR underwent six weeks of jungle training and began driving MCP insurgents back into the jungle of Perak and Kedah . The new battalion extensively patrolled and was involved in food denial operations and ambushes . Again contact was limited , although 3 RAR had more success than its predecessor . By late 1959 , operations against the MCP were in their final phase , and most communists had been pushed back and across the Thailand border . 3 RAR left Malaysia October 1959 and was replaced by 1 RAR . Though patrolling the border 1 RAR did not make contact with the insurgents , and in October 1960 it was replaced by 2 RAR , which stayed in Malaysia until August 1963 . The Malayan Emergency officially ended on 31 July 1960 .   Australia also provided artillery and engineer support , along with an air @-@ field construction squadron . The Royal Australian Navy also served in Malayan waters , firing on suspected communist positions between 1956 and 1957 . The Emergency was the longest continued commitment in Australian military history ; 7 @,@ 000 Australians served and 51 died in Malaya — although only 15 were on operations — and another 27 were wounded .   = = = Military and Naval growth during the 1960s = = =   At the start of the 1960s , Prime Minister Robert Menzies greatly expanded the Australian military so that it could carry out the Government 's policy of " Forward Defence " in South East Asia . In 1964 , Menzies announced a large increase in defence spending . The strength of the Australian Army would be increased by 50 % over three years from 22 @,@ 000 to 33 @,@ 000 ; providing a full three @-@ brigade division with nine battalions . The RAAF and RAN would also both be increased by 25 % . In 1964 , conscription or National Service was re @-@ introduced under the National Service Act , for selected 20 @-@ year @-@ olds based on date of birth , for a period of two years ' continuous full @-@ time service ( the previous scheme having been suspended in 1959 ) .   In 1961 , three Charles F. Adams @-@ class destroyers were purchased from the United States to replace the ageing Q @-@ class destroyers . Traditionally , the RAN had purchased designs based on those of the Royal Navy and the purchase of American destroyers was significant . HMAS Perth and HMAS Hobart joined the fleet in 1965 , followed by HMAS Brisbane in 1967 . Other projects included the construction of six River @-@ class frigates , the conversion of the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne to an anti @-@ submarine role , the acquisition of ten Wessex helicopters , and the purchase of six Oberon @-@ class submarines .   The RAAF took delivery of their first Mirage fighters in 1967 , equipping No. 3 , No. 75 and No. 77 Squadrons with them . The service also received American F @-@ 111 strike aircraft , C @-@ 130 Hercules transports , P @-@ 3 Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft and Italian Macchi trainers .   = = = Indonesia @-@ Malaysia Confrontation , 1962 – 66 = = =   The Indonesia @-@ Malaysia confrontation was fought from 1962 to 1966 between the British Commonwealth and Indonesia over the creation of the Federation of Malaysia , with the Commonwealth attempting to safeguard the security of the new state . The war remained limited , and was fought primarily on the island of Borneo , although a number of Indonesian seaborne and airborne incursions onto the Malay Peninsula did occur . As part of Australia 's continuing military commitment to the security of Malaysia , army , naval and airforce units were based there as part of the Far East Strategic Reserve . Regardless the Australian government was wary of involvement in a war with Indonesia and initially limited its involvement to the defence of the Malayan peninsula only . On two occasions Australian troops from 3 RAR were used to help mop up infiltrators from seaborne and airborne incursions at Labis and Pontian , in September and October 1964 .   Following these raids the government conceded to British and Malaysian requests to deploy an infantry battalion to Borneo . During the early phases , British and Malaysian troops had attempted only to control the Malaysian / Indonesian border , and to protect population centres . However , by the time the Australian battalion deployed the British had decided on more aggressive action , crossing the border into Kalimantan to obtain information and conduct ambushes to force the Indonesians to remain on the defensive , under the codename Operation Claret . The fighting took place in mountainous , jungle @-@ clad terrain , and a debilitating climate , with operations characterised by the extensive use of company bases sited along the border , cross @-@ border operations , the use of helicopters
Ġpatrolling Ġin Ġand Ġnear Ġthe ĠCT Ġjungle Ġbases Ġ, Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġ28 th ĠBritish ĠCommonwealth ĠBrigade Ġ. ĠContact Ġwith Ġthe Ġenemy Ġwas Ġinf requent Ġand Ġresults Ġsmall Ġ, Ġachieving Ġrelatively Ġfew Ġkills Ġ. Ġ2 ĠR AR Ġleft ĠMalaysia ĠOctober Ġ1957 Ġto Ġbe Ġreplaced Ġby Ġ3 ĠR AR Ġ. Ġ3 ĠR AR Ġunderwent Ġsix Ġweeks Ġof Ġjungle Ġtraining Ġand Ġbegan Ġdriving ĠM CP Ġinsurgents Ġback Ġinto Ġthe Ġjungle Ġof ĠPer ak Ġand ĠK ed ah Ġ. ĠThe Ġnew Ġbattalion Ġextensively Ġpat rolled Ġand Ġwas Ġinvolved Ġin Ġfood Ġdenial Ġoperations Ġand Ġamb ushes Ġ. ĠAgain Ġcontact Ġwas Ġlimited Ġ, Ġalthough Ġ3 ĠR AR Ġhad Ġmore Ġsuccess Ġthan Ġits Ġpredecessor Ġ. ĠBy Ġlate Ġ1959 Ġ, Ġoperations Ġagainst Ġthe ĠM CP Ġwere Ġin Ġtheir Ġfinal Ġphase Ġ, Ġand Ġmost Ġcommunists Ġhad Ġbeen Ġpushed Ġback Ġand Ġacross Ġthe ĠThailand Ġborder Ġ. Ġ3 ĠR AR Ġleft ĠMalaysia ĠOctober Ġ1959 Ġand Ġwas Ġreplaced Ġby Ġ1 ĠR AR Ġ. ĠThough Ġpatrolling Ġthe Ġborder Ġ1 ĠR AR Ġdid Ġnot Ġmake Ġcontact Ġwith Ġthe Ġinsurgents Ġ, Ġand Ġin ĠOctober Ġ1960 Ġit Ġwas Ġreplaced Ġby Ġ2 ĠR AR Ġ, Ġwhich Ġstayed Ġin ĠMalaysia Ġuntil ĠAugust Ġ1963 Ġ. ĠThe ĠMal ayan ĠEmergency Ġofficially Ġended Ġon Ġ31 ĠJuly Ġ1960 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠAustralia Ġalso Ġprovided Ġartillery Ġand Ġengineer Ġsupport Ġ, Ġalong Ġwith Ġan Ġair Ġ@ - @ Ġfield Ġconstruction Ġsquadron Ġ. ĠThe ĠRoyal ĠAustralian ĠNavy Ġalso Ġserved Ġin ĠMal ayan Ġwaters Ġ, Ġfiring Ġon Ġsuspected Ġcommunist Ġpositions Ġbetween Ġ1956 Ġand Ġ1957 Ġ. ĠThe ĠEmergency Ġwas Ġthe Ġlongest Ġcontinued Ġcommitment Ġin ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġhistory Ġ; Ġ7 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 ĠAustralians Ġserved Ġand Ġ51 Ġdied Ġin ĠMal aya ĠâĢĶ Ġalthough Ġonly Ġ15 Ġwere Ġon Ġoperations ĠâĢĶ Ġand Ġanother Ġ27 Ġwere Ġwounded Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠMilitary Ġand ĠNaval Ġgrowth Ġduring Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠAt Ġthe Ġstart Ġof Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġ, ĠPrime ĠMinister ĠRobert ĠMen z ies Ġgreatly Ġexpanded Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġmilitary Ġso Ġthat Ġit Ġcould Ġcarry Ġout Ġthe ĠGovernment Ġ' s Ġpolicy Ġof Ġ" ĠForward ĠDefence Ġ" Ġin ĠSouth ĠEast ĠAsia Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1964 Ġ, ĠMen z ies Ġannounced Ġa Ġlarge Ġincrease Ġin Ġdefence Ġspending Ġ. ĠThe Ġstrength Ġof Ġthe ĠAustralian ĠArmy Ġwould Ġbe Ġincreased Ġby Ġ50 Ġ% Ġover Ġthree Ġyears Ġfrom Ġ22 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġto Ġ33 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ; Ġproviding Ġa Ġfull Ġthree Ġ@ - @ Ġbrigade Ġdivision Ġwith Ġnine Ġbatt alions Ġ. ĠThe ĠR AAF Ġand ĠR AN Ġwould Ġalso Ġboth Ġbe Ġincreased Ġby Ġ25 Ġ% Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1964 Ġ, Ġcons cription Ġor ĠNational ĠService Ġwas Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġintroduced Ġunder Ġthe ĠNational ĠService ĠAct Ġ, Ġfor Ġselected Ġ20 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ@ - @ Ġolds Ġbased Ġon Ġdate Ġof Ġbirth Ġ, Ġfor Ġa Ġperiod Ġof Ġtwo Ġyears Ġ' Ġcontinuous Ġfull Ġ@ - @ Ġtime Ġservice Ġ( Ġthe Ġprevious Ġscheme Ġhaving Ġbeen Ġsuspended Ġin Ġ1959 Ġ) Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1961 Ġ, Ġthree ĠCharles ĠF . ĠAdams Ġ@ - @ Ġclass Ġdestroy ers Ġwere Ġpurchased Ġfrom Ġthe ĠUnited ĠStates Ġto Ġreplace Ġthe Ġageing ĠQ Ġ@ - @ Ġclass Ġdestroy ers Ġ. ĠTrad itionally Ġ, Ġthe ĠR AN Ġhad Ġpurchased Ġdesigns Ġbased Ġon Ġthose Ġof Ġthe ĠRoyal ĠNavy Ġand Ġthe Ġpurchase Ġof ĠAmerican Ġdestroy ers Ġwas Ġsignificant Ġ. ĠHM AS ĠPerth Ġand ĠHM AS ĠHob art Ġjoined Ġthe Ġfleet Ġin Ġ1965 Ġ, Ġfollowed Ġby ĠHM AS ĠBrisbane Ġin Ġ1967 Ġ. ĠOther Ġprojects Ġincluded Ġthe Ġconstruction Ġof Ġsix ĠRiver Ġ@ - @ Ġclass Ġfrig ates Ġ, Ġthe Ġconversion Ġof Ġthe Ġaircraft Ġcarrier ĠHM AS ĠMelbourne Ġto Ġan Ġanti Ġ@ - @ Ġsubmarine Ġrole Ġ, Ġthe Ġacquisition Ġof Ġten ĠWes sex Ġhelicopters Ġ, Ġand Ġthe Ġpurchase Ġof Ġsix ĠOber on Ġ@ - @ Ġclass Ġsubmarines Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠR AAF Ġtook Ġdelivery Ġof Ġtheir Ġfirst ĠMirage Ġfighters Ġin Ġ1967 Ġ, Ġequ ipping ĠNo . Ġ3 Ġ, ĠNo . Ġ75 Ġand ĠNo . Ġ77 ĠSquad rons Ġwith Ġthem Ġ. ĠThe Ġservice Ġalso Ġreceived ĠAmerican ĠF Ġ@ - @ Ġ111 Ġstrike Ġaircraft Ġ, ĠC Ġ@ - @ Ġ130 ĠHercules Ġtransports Ġ, ĠP Ġ@ - @ Ġ3 ĠOrion Ġmaritime Ġreconnaissance Ġaircraft Ġand ĠItalian ĠMac chi Ġtrainers Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠIndonesia Ġ@ - @ ĠMalaysia ĠConf ront ation Ġ, Ġ1962 ĠâĢĵ Ġ66 Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThe ĠIndonesia Ġ@ - @ ĠMalaysia Ġconfrontation Ġwas Ġfought Ġfrom Ġ1962 Ġto Ġ1966 Ġbetween Ġthe ĠBritish ĠCommonwealth Ġand ĠIndonesia Ġover Ġthe Ġcreation Ġof Ġthe ĠFederation Ġof ĠMalaysia Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe ĠCommonwealth Ġattempting Ġto Ġsafeguard Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġof Ġthe Ġnew Ġstate Ġ. ĠThe Ġwar Ġremained Ġlimited Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġfought Ġprimarily Ġon Ġthe Ġisland Ġof ĠB orne o Ġ, Ġalthough Ġa Ġnumber Ġof ĠIndonesian Ġse abor ne Ġand Ġairborne Ġinc ursions Ġonto Ġthe ĠMal ay ĠPeninsula Ġdid Ġoccur Ġ. ĠAs Ġpart Ġof ĠAustralia Ġ' s Ġcontinuing Ġmilitary Ġcommitment Ġto Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġof ĠMalaysia Ġ, Ġarmy Ġ, Ġnaval Ġand Ġair force Ġunits Ġwere Ġbased Ġthere Ġas Ġpart Ġof Ġthe ĠFar ĠEast ĠStrategic ĠReserve Ġ. ĠRegardless Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġgovernment Ġwas Ġwary Ġof Ġinvolvement Ġin Ġa Ġwar Ġwith ĠIndonesia Ġand Ġinitially Ġlimited Ġits Ġinvolvement Ġto Ġthe Ġdefence Ġof Ġthe ĠMal ayan Ġpeninsula Ġonly Ġ. ĠOn Ġtwo Ġoccasions ĠAustralian Ġtroops Ġfrom Ġ3 ĠR AR Ġwere Ġused Ġto Ġhelp Ġm op Ġup Ġinfiltr ators Ġfrom Ġse abor ne Ġand Ġairborne Ġinc ursions Ġat ĠLab is Ġand ĠPont ian Ġ, Ġin ĠSeptember Ġand ĠOctober Ġ1964 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFollowing Ġthese Ġraids Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġconceded Ġto ĠBritish Ġand ĠMalaysian Ġrequests Ġto Ġdeploy Ġan Ġinfantry Ġbattalion Ġto ĠB orne o Ġ. ĠDuring Ġthe Ġearly Ġphases Ġ, ĠBritish Ġand ĠMalaysian Ġtroops Ġhad Ġattempted Ġonly Ġto Ġcontrol Ġthe ĠMalaysian Ġ/ ĠIndonesian Ġborder Ġ, Ġand Ġto Ġprotect Ġpopulation Ġcentres Ġ. ĠHowever Ġ, Ġby Ġthe Ġtime Ġthe ĠAustralian Ġbattalion Ġdeployed Ġthe ĠBritish Ġhad Ġdecided Ġon Ġmore Ġaggressive Ġaction Ġ, Ġcrossing Ġthe Ġborder Ġinto ĠKal im ant an Ġto Ġobtain Ġinformation Ġand Ġconduct Ġamb ushes Ġto Ġforce Ġthe ĠIndones ians Ġto Ġremain Ġon Ġthe Ġdefensive Ġ, Ġunder Ġthe Ġcod ename ĠOperation ĠCl aret Ġ. ĠThe Ġfighting Ġtook Ġplace Ġin Ġmountainous Ġ, Ġjungle Ġ@ - @ Ġclad Ġterrain Ġ, Ġand Ġa Ġdebilitating Ġclimate Ġ, Ġwith Ġoperations Ġcharacter ised Ġby Ġthe Ġextensive Ġuse Ġof Ġcompany Ġbases Ġs ited Ġalong Ġthe Ġborder Ġ, Ġcross Ġ@ - @ Ġborder Ġoperations Ġ, Ġthe Ġuse Ġof Ġhelicopters