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the reconstruction of Japan and US-Japanese relations; support for Jiang Jieshi and policy towards China and Taiwan; the defensive perimeter strategy; support for South Korea; NSC-68
US foreign policy in Asia
militarising containment; substantial increase in US armed forces
solidify Asia and remove chances of communist threat
Second Chinese Civil War , 1946 - 1949
The Second Civil War between the GMD and CCP breaks out
Mao and the communists emerge as victors
Autumn Uprising , 1946
The uprising was against the presence of the American military in Korea and the support which it gave to the Rhee regime
1947 - Reverse Course
Name given to the shift in the policies of the US government and the US led Allied occupation of Japan as they sought to reform and rebuild Japan after WWII.
When and what was the Sino-Soviet Treaty?
14 Feb 1950 (and theyre both boys.. mmwah mmwah mm)
an alliance outlining the cooperative relationship between the PRC and The Soviet Union
arguably the last trigger for the militarisation of containment - treaty open for interpretation as 'soviet aggression'
USA involvement in Chinese Civil War
Open Door Policy from 1899 (trade in turn for protection of Chinese national sovereignty) led to US support against Japan
1945-50: Truman gave $2.8b in aid to GMD
Aug 1945: encouraged coalition between GMD and CCP
USSR involvement in Chinese Civil War
Aug 1945: Stalin gave approx 700 000 rifles to CCP and helped train the PLA
Fen 1950: signed Treaty of Friendship with Mao
BUT, saw Mao as uncontrollable and did not want to share communist power with him
NSC-68, Apr 1950
consequence of loss of nuclear monopoly and loss of China
mass build up of American nuclear weapons
militarisation of containment
globalisation of Cold War
officially approved when Korean War starts in June 1950
= start of arms race
Revisonist historian view of NSC-68 in terms of increasing tensions?
Would say that the document shows how American perception of Soviet intentions were based on false premise, merely an excuse to justify US pro capitalist expansion
Factors which influenced NSC-68
domestic pressure 'soft on communism'
McCarthyism
USSR atomic bomb capability
'Loss of China'
US-Japan Security Treaty, 1951
gave US unrestricted use of military bases in Japan and right to veto offering military bases to other states
US aims in Japan
initially wanted weak and Westernised Japan but then;
democratisation (neutralise Japan as an aggressor, strengthen it as a pro capitalist, imperial power)
economic reconstruction, prevents the soviet union from successfully exerting influence (reverse course)
reverse course
from summer of 1947 with Joseph Dodge as economic advisor
USA sent $500m to Japan to help its economic recover, rebuilding to be immune to communism
super balanced budget (target surplus of $4m)
joining GATT to strengthen Japan’s access to Western trade
Why was Japan so important to the US following 1949?
loss of China in Oct 1949, Sino-Soviet Treaty Feb 1950, Korean War June 1950 increased Japan’s geopolitical importance
needed to be a capitalist stronghold in the region
Defensive Perimeter Strategy, Jan 1950
by Dean Acheson
a line of containment between mainland Asia and Japan to protect Japan and the other islands from communism
impact of defensive perimeter strategy
areas outside this line such as Korea were not guaranteed against military attack - projects lack of care towards South Korea (Stalin and Kim Sung II green light to invade South Korea)
San Francisco Treaty, 8 Sept 1951
treaty between Japan and US
formal ending of the war
compensation and POW's given to allied countries
promise of Japanese support of the nationalist Chinese
placing US bases in Japan
= ended Japan’s position as imperial power
Who was SCAP?
Supreme Command of Allied Powers, General Douglas MacArthur
occupied Japan from 1945 - 1952
aimed to enact widespread military, political, economic and social reforms
How did the USA establish Japan as an ally?
General Douglas MacArthur, SCAP - integrated reforms which created Japan as a firm ally
through economic stabilisation; increased regulation of foreign exchange, wage controls, regulation of trade
What is GATT?
general agreement on tariffs and trade, prevented trade with China 1950 onwards
US demanded Japan to join
US policy in Japan upto 1954 vs after 1954
up to 1954: driven by threat of communism in Korea
after 1954: rearmament - conflict between pro and anti rearmament attitudes
= US policy was now based on managing rearmament in order to avoid instability, Japan was still vital to containment in Asia
Who was Jiang Jieshi?
leader of (anti-communist and nationalist) GMD
Significance of communist victory oct 1949 to USA?
seen as evidence of Stalin's work to spread world communism
failure of the USA to sufficiently send aid to nationalists created domestic pressure on Truman, accused of being 'soft on communism'
US foreign policy towards China
1899 Open Door Policy - Truman inherited this outlook
their policy was rooted in the desire to trade with the Chinese market
post WW2, Truman wanted stability towards China - supported Jiang Jieshi as he believed Mao was a 'soviet puppet'
Truman gave $2.8 billion in aid to the GMD from 1945-50
China White Paper, 1950: secret support of GMD
China White Paper, 30 Jul 1949
Acheson’s attempt to justify withdrawal of support from Jiang Jieshi just a few months before communist victory in China
How was 1949 a turning point for US policy, both domestic and foreign?
USA lost nuclear monopoly as Soviets tested atomic weapon in Aug 1949
start of McCarthyism - caused instability within US federal govt and general political culture
