US containment in action in Asia

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

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