US containment in Asia (5) Flashcards
What was SCAP?
The Supreme Command of Allied Powers, which was led by General MacArthur who took control in September 1945.
How did Japan’s rehabilitation start?
The Japanese army was dismantled and former military officers were banned from taking roles of political leadership in the new government. SCAP introduced land reform which reduced the power of the rich landowners. The Zaibatsu was broken up to create a more capitalist system. The Emperor was downgraded to a figurehead and the country renounced its right to wage war.
Why did the US need a ‘reverse course’ in Japan?
The economic crisis called for the economic stabilisation of Japan to resist communism.
How did the US stabilise the economy in Japan?
- Japan brought in line with USA as a capitalist economic system
- Joseph Dodge, a banker, became economic advisor to SCAP - created the ‘super balanced budget’ - surplus of just over $4 million
- Japan forced to join GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) to ensure it could not trade with China
What was the ‘Super balanced budget’?
Japan’s expenditure and income was monitored closely to ensure a future of growth and a surplus was always ensured to act as an economic cushion.
How did China influence Japan’s relationship with the USA?
Mao Zedong and the USSR formed an alliance in February 1950 and China joined North Korea in November 1950 in the Korean War. This accelerated the USA’s containment plan in Asia. Yoshida also took this as an opportunity to make an alliance with the USA to strengthen post-war Japan. This was the Yoshida Doctrine.
The San Francisco Peace Treaty
In september 1951, John Foster Dulles negotiated the treaty between the Allied Powers and Japan that:
- Did not place any significant restrictions on Japans economy or political model
- Did not restrict Japans future rearmament
- Did not impose reparation payments for Japan for Southeast Asian countries
- Did make Japan give up its right to surrounding islands including Taiwan
Yoshida also secured
- sovereignty for the Japanese people
The agreement was also bilateral between the USA and Japan so that the USA:
- Had unrestricted use of military bases in Japan
- Administered control of the Island Okinawa
- The right to use military force to resolve disputes in Japan
- The right to veto Japan giving military bases to other countries
USSR AND CHINA DID NOT SIGN
How did the USA rearm Japan?
- established a 75,000-stron National Police Reserve
- August 1950 = 110,000 ground troops and 7600 maritime personnel, known as the National Security Agency
- Eisenhower comes into office 1953 and Dulles wants to enlarge Japanese Force
- July 1954, 140,000-strong Self-Defense Japanese Force, paid for by USA at cost of $240 million
USSR and China
- Start of 1949 Mao Zedong knew that the CCP would win the Chinese Civil war and that the USA would not intervene due to troubles in Europe
- Did fear that the USA would support Jiang Jieshi’s nationalist government in Taiwan and undermine the CCP’s vision of a united China
- Mao Zedong therefore creates an alliance with the USSR in June 1949
The White paper, response to loss of China
July 1949, Acheson, successor to Marshall, wrote the White Paper
- The USA should support the Taiwan government (KMT)
- Should be done in secret due to avoid being seen as an ‘imperialist menace’
- Also in secret as to not strengthen Sino-Soviet relations
- Tries to justify why they stopped supporting Jiang-Jieshi
What did Acheson propose in the Far East?
The Defensive Perimeter
Defined in January 1950
Japan focused as a major defensive responsibility for the US
What was Truman’s policy to the USSR after 1949?
In 1949 the USA lost its atomic monopoly and China
This led to the NSC-68 policy being produced and backed by Truman.
It was issued in April 1950 and
- focused on the build-up of both conventional and nuclear weapons in the US
- The advancement of the USA’s technological capabilities
- Focused on a global containment plan
