Chapter 5: USA Policy towards China and Taiwan Flashcards
What seemed inevitable at the start of 1949?
Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War against Jiang Jieshi’s nationalist forces.
What was Mao Zedong concerned about regarding the USA?
Concerned that the USA would support an exiled Jiang Jieshi from Taiwan. At first he considered the possibility of a US intervention in the civil war, but reached the conclusion that this would not happen as the USA was more interested in Europe than Asia.
Why was Mao Zedong concerned that the USA would support an exiled Jiang Jieshi from Taiwan?
It would undermine Mao’s aim of ensuring a united and intact communist China.
When did the Chinese Communist Party announce its allegiance to the USSR?
June 1949
How was the USA’s strategy towards China? Written by Dean G. Acheson, the new secretary of state after Marshall.
In the White Paper the USA attempted to justify its withdrawl from direct military support or Jiang Jieshi.
What alliance did Acheson want to make sure didn’t form?
Wanted the USA to do nothing that might reinforce a Sino-Soviet aliance.
What was the function of supporting the nationalists in Taiwan?
It was a means to an end. Namely, undermining the CCP.
What was Dean G. Acheson’s committed to?
Dean G. Acheson, the new secretary of state after George Marshall was committed to supporting the KMT (Nationalists) in Taiwan but this should be done secretly so that the USA did not appear to be an ‘imperialist menace to China.
What did Acheson, the new secretary of state review in the early 1950s?
The USA policy towards the Far East. His thinking was focused on the military security of the pacific and the policy the USA should develop to ensure this.
Who did Acheson think the military defence of Japan was the responsibility of?
The USA. Through ‘the Defensive Perimeter’.
What was the ‘Defensive Perimeter’ Strategy?
Defined in January 1950, just before the Sino-Soviet treaty. The Defensive Perimeter ‘runs along the Aleutians to Japan and then goes to the Ryukyu Islands’ These islands, in Acheson’s view, are the essential parts of the defensive perimeter of the Pacific and they must and will be held’.
How was Acheson’s Defensive Perimeter Strategy criticised?
For omitting Korea in the defensive cordon. Despite this, the USA was committed to protecting South Korea from communist expansion and this became very evident in June 1950
What was NSC-68?
National Security Council Resolution. Stressed the urgency of building USA’s political, economic and military power. It was focused on the globalisation of the Cold War and there was a powerful military emphasis on ontainment.
How did NSC-68 emerge? When?
- The USA’s nuclear monopoly ended as the USSR tested its own atomic bomb and Truman’s ‘loss of China’ triggered a fundamental review of the USA’s strategic objectives and priorities- in the form of NSC-68.
How was 1950 a turning point in the Cold War?
NSC-68, events in the far East- loss of China, alliance with Japan and Defensive Perimeter Strategy, and in June communist North Korea invaded Non-Communist South Korea.
