1 / 31

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.

elina
Download Presentation

US and Southeast Asia

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  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 500 million people • collective GDP of US$750 billion

  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$100 billion in U.S. direct investment • Market: • 3rd largest overseas market for U.S. exports • Trade: • Two-way ASEAN-U.S. trade totaled US$172 billion in 2007, 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

More Related