was accused of being behind Zhang Xun's monarchist coup in China to prevent Duan Qirui's pro-war faction from supporting the Allies. After the coup failed in July 1917, Duan used the incident as a pretext for declaring war on Germany. The German and Austro-Hungarian concessions in Tientsin and Hankow were occupied and their nationals detained. China also supplied civilian laborers to the Allies for mainly non-combat and auxiliary roles on the Western Front. Siam On 22 July 1917, Siam declared war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. Twelve German vessels docked in Siamese ports were immediately seized. The crews and other Central Power nationals were detained and sent to India to join their fellow citizens in British India's existing civilian internment camps. Being the only Southeast Asian country to maintain independence throughout the colonial period, Siam was the only state in the region to enter the conflict entirely of its own free will, as an equal of the European powers rather than as part of their imperial contingents. The Siamese and the Vietnamese were also the only two Southeast Asian nations to fight in the war. Siam sent troops to mainland Europe, and participate in the Paris Peace Conference to become a founding member of the League of Nations. Overall increasing its international standing and modernizing both their army and its understanding of war in the modern age. Gallery See also Samoa Expeditionary Force Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force Hindu–German Conspiracy Imperial Japanese Navy in World War I Notes References Falls, Cyril (1960). The Great War, pgs. 98–99. Keegan, John (1998). World War One, pgs. 205–206. External links Melzer, Jürgen: Warfare 1914–1918 (Japan) , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Mühlhahn, Klaus: China , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Tillmann, Niko, Maezawa, Yuko: Micronesia , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Jennings, John: Pacific Islands , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Suchoples, Jarosław, Robertson, John R.: SMS Emden , in: 1914-1918-online. International Encyclopedia of the First World War. Bismarck Archipelago Campaigns and theatres of World War I Military campaigns and theatres of World War I involving Australia