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US and Southeast Asia

US and Southeast Asia. From SEATO to ASEAN. Outline. US strategies of containment original formulation SEATO Indochina and the Philippines ASEAN Post-Cold War changes Counter-terrorism in Southeast Asia. Containment 1950s-1980s.

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US and Southeast Asia

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  1. US and Southeast Asia From SEATO to ASEAN

  2. Outline • US strategies of containment • original formulation • SEATO • Indochina and the Philippines • ASEAN • Post-Cold War changes • Counter-terrorism in Southeast Asia

  3. Containment 1950s-1980s • US foreign policy treated Southeast Asia as an arena for competition with the Soviet Union • Former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger: ``Our objective was to purge our foreign policy of all sentimentality”

  4. Appeal of Communism • It seemed to be the wave of the future • dramatic economic and technological advances of the Soviet Union • anti-colonialism • ``importance by association” psychology • opportunity for greater personal power • public disappointment and resentment at the poverty and violence after independence

  5. Architect of Containment • George Kennan’s original formulation called for the coordinated use of political, economic, and military influence to prevent the expansion of Soviet control in vital regions

  6. Original Formulation • Traditional Russian sense of insecurity • Stalin’s need for a hostile world • S.U. was not primarily a military threat • A long-term containment of Russian expansive tendencies will lead to • "either the break-up or the gradual mellowing of Soviet power."

  7. ``Truman Doctrine” (1947) • ``It must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or outside pressures” • Implies that substantial US support could be counted on anywhere, not just in those vital regions

  8. Economic Strategies • In late 1940s, economic assistance was the central pillar of anti-communist policy • Marshall Plan to rebuild Western Europe • The ``arsenal of democracy” • technological and economic resources

  9. Early Aid to Southeast Asia • US pressured the Netherlands to give independence to Dutch East Indies colony • US-Indonesia economic and technical assistance agreement in 1950 • US aid programs to Thailand and Burma in 1950

  10. Militarization in Policy • US strategic shift of containment toward reliance on military strength in 1950s • Obligated US to ``bear any cost” against communist incursions anywhere in the world

  11. SEATO (1954 - 1977) • Southeast Asia Treaty Organization • Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty • Australia, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States • oppose further Communist gains in Southeast Asia

  12. SEATO (1954 - 1977) • Headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand • SEATO's principal role was to sanction the U.S. presence in Vietnam, although France and Pakistan withheld support • Unable to intervene in Laos or Vietnam in ‘60s and ‘70s due to its rule of unanimity • SEATO was ultimately disbanded in 1977

  13. Arc of Containment

  14. ``Falling Domino" Principle • President Eisenhower (1954-04-07): • ``beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences” • ``the possible sequence of events, the loss of Indochina, of Burma, of Thailand, of the Peninsula, and Indonesia” • ``the possible consequences of the loss are just incalculable to the free world”

  15. ``Falling Domino" Principle • Simplistic perception of a monolithic Communist bloc • Simplistic assumption that societies and politics in the vast, diverse Asia-Pacific region were essentially all alike

  16. A Source of Misperception • The communist-hunt of 1947-1953 in US • Federal Employee Loyalty Program • House Un-American Activities Committee • Internal Security Act • Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed communists had infiltrated S.D. and US Army • purged the Administration of its best senior Asia expertise

  17. US in the Philippines • Philippines became a cornerstone of US ``containment” in Southeast Asia • US shored up the Philippine government with advisors and assistance • US upgraded its two bases in the Philippines • Clark Air Force Base and the Subic Naval Base

  18. Clark Air Force Base • Damaged by a volcanic eruption in 1991

  19. Subic Naval Base • The air and naval bases became the most consistent, visible, and emotional of the issues that troubled US-Philippine post-war relations • Natural disaster and the end of Cold War made these bases less desirable to US

  20. Subic Bay • Closed in 1992 • Philippine government converted it into a special economic zone to attract investment • Subic Bay Freeport Zone • Commerce and tourism • 1996 APEC Summit

  21. ASEAN: overview • Association of Southeast Asian Nations • 10 member states • Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, & Vietnam • home to over 600 million people • combined GDP of US$2.1 trillion

  22. ASEAN: founding (1967) • 5 founding members: • Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines • Bangkok Declaration of 1967: • accelerate economic growth • promote regional peace and stability • contain the spread of communism

  23. End of Cold War • ASEAN Free Trade Area • initiated at ASEAN summit in 1992 • comprehensive program of regional tariff reduction • program later broadened and accelerated • reaffirmed during Asian Financial Crisis of 1997-1998

  24. End of Cold War • Expansion of ASEAN • 1995: Vietnam • 1997: Laos • 1997: Myanmar • 1999: Cambodia

  25. ASEAN: external links • A joint forum with Japan was established in 1977 • A cooperation agreement with the European Community was signed in 1980 • ``ASEAN + 3”: regular series of meetings at the cabinet and head-of-government levels with Japan, China, and South Korea since 1997

  26. ASEAN and U.S. • Investment: • US$150 billion in U.S. direct investment • Market: • 4th largest overseas market for U.S. exports • Trade: • Two-way ASEAN-U.S. trade totaled US$177 billion in 2008, up from $85 billion in 1990

  27. Counter-Terrorism • US troops in the Philippines to assist Philippine armed forces to fight terrorists • 2000-12-24 church bombings in Indonesia • 2000-12-30 bombing in Manila, Philippines • 2002-10-12 the Bali attacks • 2003-08-05 J.W. Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta

  28. Counter-Terrorism • US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State: • ``the common threat of terrorism has actually strengthened (U.S.) cooperation and ties with key Southeast Asian countries." • http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/pgtrpt/2003/31611.htm

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