SE Asia = mostly Western colonies by C17-18. Valued for sugar, rubber, tobacco, coconut, tin, oil.
WWII: local groups fought Japan → 2 ideas took hold:
• Nationalism = right to self-rule.
• Communism = profits of work → people, not owners.
Both threatened the non-comm West.
1. After WWII – Calcutta Conference, 1948
Truman saw power vacuum in Far East, like E Europe, w. states falling to Communism:
• Feb 1948: SE Asian in Calcutta (Burma, China, Ceylon, India, Indo, Malaya, Nepal, Pak, Phil, USSR, Vietnam). Mostly non-Comm, but Moscow sent ‘experts’. Later that year, Comm offensives in Malaya, Burma, Indo, Phil.
• 1952: Pro-West Thailand saw Comm protests (‘Peace rebellion’).
2. China, 1949
1928: Chiang Kai-shek (GMD Chinese Nationalist movement) passed Organic Law = dictatorial power.
Tried to crush Comms (Jiangxi 1933-34). Comms escaped (‘Long March’), gained strength in WWII.
• 1945: US reinstated Chiang.
• 1949: After civil war,
won. Proclaimed People’s Republic of China (PRC): “China has stood up”.
• Dec 1949: Mao signed Treaty of
w. USSR → Soviet experts, aid, loans.
• 1949: Chiang Kai-shek retreated to
(Taiwan), set up Republic of China (ROC). 1950: Mao massed troops in Fujian, threatening invasion.
• Oct 1950: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet, absorbed it.
• US saw China turning Comm as a major threat to containment.
3. Korea, 1950
1945: Korea split like Germany. N = USSR-backed Democratic People’s Republic (DPRK/
). S = US-backed Democratic Republic (ROK/
).
• S Korea unrest:
◦ Sept 1946 General Strike,
◦ Oct 1946 Daegu Uprising,
◦ April 1948
Uprising (Rhee led brutal suppression).
• June 1950: N Korea (w. Stalin’s approval) invaded S, quickly took most of it.
• US intervened (1950–53 Korean War - qv) to stop Comm expansion.
4. Indo-China, 1954
WWII: Japan ousted France from Indo-China. Resisted by Vietminh ( & Vo Nguyen Giap), aided by US.
• Post-war: Ho declared independent, but France tried to retake colony.
• 1946: Ceasefire broken by France →
guerrilla war.
• US feared Ho’s Comm ties → gave France $3b (1950–54). Mao backed Vietminh w/ arms.
• By 1954: Vietminh controlled countryside, France held cities/outposts (90,000 dead).
• March 1954: Vietminh won at
→ France withdrew.
• 21 July 1954:
Peace Talks → Vietnam split:
◦ N Vietnam = Ho Chi Minh (Comm).
◦ S Vietnam = Ngo Dinh Diem (US-backed, anti-Comm).
• US determined to stop Comm at 17th parallel (like 38th in Korea) → began involvement in Vietnam.
5. The
Initially, US/UK doubted Stalin’s influence in SE Asia.
But China’s fall → concern ∵ CCP active in Siam, Indo-China, Malaya, Indo, Phil, Burma, HK…
• 7 April 1954: Eisenhower → if 1 state fell, others would ‘fall like dominoes’.
• Domino theory shaped US policy in SE Asia until after 1973.
• Used by:
◦ Truman (1950-53) → justify Korea
◦ Ford (1975) → justify Africa intervention
◦ Reagan (1980, 1984) → justify S & C America interventions.
SE Asia = mostly Western colonies by C17-18. Valued for sugar, rubber, tobacco, coconut, tin, oil.
WWII: local groups fought Japan → 2 ideas took hold:
• Nationalism = right to self-rule.
• Communism = profits of work → people, not owners.
Both threatened the non-comm West.
1. After WWII – Calcutta Conference, 1948
Truman saw power vacuum in Far East, like E Europe, w. states falling to Communism:
• Feb 1948: SE Asian YOUTH CONFERENCE in Calcutta (Burma, China, Ceylon, India, Indo, Malaya, Nepal, Pak, Phil, USSR, Vietnam). Mostly non-Comm, but Moscow sent ‘experts’. Later that year, Comm offensives in Malaya, Burma, Indo, Phil.
• 1952: Pro-West Thailand saw Comm protests (‘Peace rebellion’).
2. China, 1949
1928: Chiang Kai-shek (GMD Chinese Nationalist movement) passed Organic Law = dictatorial power.
Tried to crush Comms (Jiangxi 1933-34). Comms escaped (‘Long March’), gained strength in WWII.
• 1945: US reinstated Chiang.
• 1949: After civil war, MAO ZEDONG won. Proclaimed People’s Republic of China (PRC): “China has stood up”.
• Dec 1949: Mao signed Treaty of FRIENDSHIP w. USSR → Soviet experts, aid, loans.
• 1949: Chiang Kai-shek retreated to FORMOSA (Taiwan), set up Republic of China (ROC). 1950: Mao massed troops in Fujian, threatening invasion.
• Oct 1950: People’s Liberation Army (PLA) invaded Tibet, absorbed it.
• US saw China turning Comm as a major threat to containment.
3. Korea, 1950
1945: Korea split like Germany. N = USSR-backed Democratic People’s Republic (DPRK/ KIM IL SUNG). S = US-backed Democratic Republic (ROK/ SYNGMAN RHEE).
• S Korea unrest:
◦ Sept 1946 General Strike,
◦ Oct 1946 Daegu Uprising,
◦ April 1948 JEJU Uprising (Rhee led brutal suppression).
• June 1950: N Korea (w. Stalin’s approval) invaded S, quickly took most of it.
• US intervened (1950–53 Korean War - qv) to stop Comm expansion.
4. Indo-China, 1954
WWII: Japan ousted France from Indo-China. Resisted by Vietminh (HO CHI MINH & Vo Nguyen Giap), aided by US.
• Post-war: Ho declared independent, but France tried to retake colony.
• 1946: Ceasefire broken by France → VIETMINH guerrilla war.
• US feared Ho’s Comm ties → gave France $3b (1950–54). Mao backed Vietminh w/ arms.
• By 1954: Vietminh controlled countryside, France held cities/outposts (90,000 dead).
• March 1954: Vietminh won at DIEN BIEN PHU → France withdrew.
• 21 July 1954: GENEVA Peace Talks → Vietnam split:
◦ N Vietnam = Ho Chi Minh (Comm).
◦ S Vietnam = Ngo Dinh Diem (US-backed, anti-Comm).
• US determined to stop Comm at 17th parallel (like 38th in Korea) → began involvement in Vietnam.
5. The DOMINO THEORY
Initially, US/UK doubted Stalin’s influence in SE Asia.
But China’s fall → concern ∵ CCP active in Siam, Indo-China, Malaya, Indo, Phil, Burma, HK…
• 7 April 1954: Eisenhower → if 1 state fell, others would ‘fall like dominoes’.
• Domino theory shaped US policy in SE Asia until after 1973.
• Used by:
◦ Truman (1950-53) → justify Korea
◦ Ford (1975) → justify Africa intervention
◦ Reagan (1980, 1984) → justify S & C America interventions.
