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| A crowded street in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 2018 |
Imperial Japan sought several objects in its campaign in Asia and the Pacific:
A) Imperial dominance in the region
B) Land and resources for the Japanese
C) Dismantling of the European colonial empires
While the Japanese lost the war, it did achieve objective C. The European powers were exhausted in the World War and lacked the men and material to maintain their overseas colonies.
In addition, their colonial subjects had seen how their colonial masters failed to defend them in the war. Even in India where the British held their ground, the Indian National Congress refused to fight the Japanese until independence was guaranteed. With the loss of India as a colony, the British could not hold on to their colonies. Furthermore, the Americans were not interested in helping the European keep their colonies. It would seem hypocritical for them to promote freedom and yet enforce colonialism on the Asian states. The Americans were just here to defeat Japan and go home.
Myanmar was independent in 1948. Malaya (Malaysia and Singapore) was granted independence in 1963.
Attempts to control colonies in Vietnam and Indonesia were costly and ineffective. The French eventually surrendered in Indochina in 1953 after many lives were loss. With international pressure and a stalemate, the Dutch withdrew from Indonesia in 1949.
Despite winning the World War, the European powers lost their control of Asia.
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