The Economic Friction Between Britain And Japan In Malaya From 1914 To 1941

British expansion in the Malay Peninsula began at the end of the 18 th century.After a series of colonial activities,the British occupied the Straits Settlements,the Malay Federation and the Malay States in 1914,collectively known as British Malaya.While the British colonized and expanded,British capital and commodities continued to flow into Malaya,laying the foundation for the economic development of Malaya dominated by the British.Japan opened the door to Malaya by sending Japanese goods to Malaya.From 1914 to 1929,the economic relationship between Britain and Japan in Malaya was relatively stable.During this period,the British government dominated the economic development of Malaya.On the one hand,the focus of British economic development in Malaya was to promote and regulate the production and export of tin ore and rubber in Malaya.On the other hand,Britain also continued to expand its commodity exports to Malaya,and its industrial products flowed continuously to the Malaya market.During the same period,Japan’s economic expansion in Malaya also achieved certain results.First of all,during World War I,the first peak of imports of Japanese products in Malaya was ushered in,and the Japanese government benefited from it.Second,the measures adopted by the Japanese government after World War I to develop domestic industries and encourage Japanese businessmen to do business overseas laid the foundation for Japan’s export transformation and further economic expansion.But it is worth noting that the Japanese were rarely involved in the production of rubber and tin ore from the beginning to the end,and generally speaking,Japanese goods at this time,especially textiles,had not yet threatened the dominance of British products.Therefore,from 1914 to 1929,the economic development of Britain and Japan in Malaya was at a stable stage,and there was no major friction between the two sides.However,since the outbreak of the economic crisis in 1929,the above situation has gradually been broken.From 1930 to 1941,the economic conflict between Britain and Japan in Malaya became increasingly acute.Overall,during this period of time,the economic relationship between the two countries in Malaya has undergone earth-shaking changes,from stable development to competition.The reasons for the above-mentioned changes are mainly in the following two aspects.First,during the economic crisis,Japan carried out a series of reforms on the domestic textile industry and monetary policy,which greatly improved production efficiency and reduced production costs.The competitiveness of textiles in the world market,Japanese textiles began to flood into Malaya,replacing the local monopoly of British textiles,causing great economic losses to the UK.In order to recapture the market,Britain implemented a textile quota system in Malaya,restricting the import of Japanese textiles,and safeguarding its own economic rights and interests.Second,the outbreak of the economic crisis once again aroused Japan’s aggressive ambitions,targeting Southeast Asia.For this reason,the British government increased economic restrictions on Japan in the late 1930 s,hoping to stop Japan’s progress,but these measures did not play much role.The economic friction between Britain and Japan in Malaya also had an impact on the local relations between the two countries.During World War I,the most notable feature of Japan’s economic expansion in Malaya was frequent trade exchanges,and Japan ushered in its first prosperous period of development in Malaya.But it is worth noting that raw materials were Japan’s main export during this period,and that with the end of the war came the end of Japan’s boom in economic expansion.Since then,the sea transportation routes have resumed unimpeded,and Britain has also resumed trade with Malaya,while Japan’s export trade to Malaya has stagnated,which is not enough to threaten the economic development of Britain.Promoted a relatively peaceful relationship between the two countries.It is a pity that the good times did not last long.After the 1930 s,the economic conflict between Britain and Japan in Malaya became increasingly acute.The influx of Japanese textiles,the implementation of the British textile quota system,and the subsequent measures of the British government to increase economic sanctions against Japan all led to the gradual deterioration of the relationship between Britain and Japan in Malaya.The contradiction between the two countries became increasingly acute,and eventually evolved into a fierce armed conflict.