Cold War in Asia- How successfully did the US seek to contain communism in Asia to 1950?

1. Punish and Reform 1945

• War crime trials.
• Army dismatled and demilliterised, PoWs released.
• New basic freedom eg political parties existed, equal rights for women.

2. Soft Cold War Policy 1947

• Improve trade and industry. Land reforms.
• 1949- $500 million aid from US to Japan.

2. Hard Cold War Policy 1949

• Rearm Japan to protect Asia from communism.

4. Integrated Cold War Policy 1951

• Trade embargo with China
• San Francisco Peace Treaty 1951- J independence, reparations, loss of land, US troops withdraw from J.

• Nationalist= Jiang Jieshi
• Communist= Mao Zedong

Success of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party)

• Popular with the peasants.
• Highly motivated, good leadership
• Rural support for land reforms1947-48
• Reduced taxes.
• Peasants didfn't support communism, but were forced to.

Failure of Nationalists:

• Incompetent- poor leadershipp
• US supplied Jiang Jieshi with aid, but it was like "money down a rathole".
• Lack of support for policy

• October 1949 Mao Zedong created People's Republic of China (PRC)
• Fall of communisim 1949 in China.

• Communists could dominate sea lanes to Japan, Philippines and other countries.
• August 1949 USSR successfully tested atomic bomb, US lost nuclear supremacy (US had successfully tested theirs in August 1945)
• Acheson wanted withdrawal of US support from Nationalist China, but Truman refused so he wasn't seen as pro-communist.
• Sino-Soviet Treaty 1950 gave Mao Zedong $300 million of Soviet aid- Mao knew China couldn't stand alone, only real choice of ally.

• Failed to keep it for their Japanese satellite.
• Allowed Stalin to liberate nothern industrial area.
• Not included in 'Defensive Perimeter Strategy'.

Kennan's Long Telegram

• Febuary 1946
• Sowed the seeds of anti-communism, wanted to fill power vaccuums left by Japan, suggested USSR were aggressive,

Truman Doctrine

• Febuary 1947
• Speech advertising policy of containment. Protect freedom of countries threatened.

Marshall Aid 

• December 1947
• $400 million of economic aid to reconstruct Europe, to stop communism spreading to Europe.

Defensive Perimeter Strategy 1949

• A defensive line of military bases, formed as the US feared an expansion of Soviet influence in the area.
• Exluded Korea and Taiwan.

NSC68 1950

• Report issued by US National Security Council
• More than trippled defence spending up to $50 billion per year.

• More aid given, NSC68
• Used model states in Japan, but supported a corrupt leader in China.

Creating a model state

• Established democratic gov, supporting Manuel Roxas (man not movement).

Prosperous Filipino economy

• Improved- $620 million injected by US and infrastructure restored.

Market for US goods

Source of raw material for US army

• Set up Filipino military police under US army control.