Kwangtung pirates were a very serious issue for the British government in the 1920s. Due to the impacts of political disturbances and social disorders in the republican China, piratical activities near the southern parts of Kwangtung increased. Hong Kong, Britain's settlement near Kwangtung, suffered greatly from piracy. Besides, Kwangtung pirates' activities were not confined only on the coastal areas of Kwangtung but also extended to areas ranging from Shanghai to Singapore. In others words, almost the entire steamer shipping line in the East China Seas became a prey to Kwangtung pirates. That was exactly the reason why the British government resorted every available means in an attempt to wipe out these pirates. By means of cooperation with the Canton government and forming a Canton-Britain military expedition to destroy pirates' lairs in Kwangtung was the first priority for the British government.As the relationships between Canton and Britain eased, the British Navy and the Cantonese troops launched a series of military expeditions to wipe out notorious gangs of pirates in Kwangtung. However, the validity of the Canton-Britain military cooperation was questionable. According to the Britain Navy's evaluation reports, this cooperation did reduce the piracy problems in Kwangtung, but other uncertainties must be taken into consideration, such as the strong antagonism from the Canton government, clique struggle, political confrontation, etc. The British Legation at Peking also admitted that some Cantonese generals felt vigilant about the cooperation and did not want the British naval force to intervene the expeditions too much. Thus, the British gunboats were often refrained from working actively, except for some escorted missions. Furthermore, this military cooperation might bring the British government a political risk, as the cooperation of the British naval action could be blamed for interfering with the Chinese internal affairs that might trigger the anti-Britain campaign in China but also cause other powers' criticism.