ASIA - U.S. DIPLOMATIC HISTORY

Though Europeans have known about Asia since Marco Polo returned from his travels in the 13th century, regular contact between Europeans (and later Americans) and Asians did not start until the beginning of the 16th century. Once regular contacts were made however, a profitable trade began to develop. Seeking to further this trade, Europeans and to a certain extent. Americans, played an increasing role in Asian politics. Eventually, much of Asia became colonies. No longer able to bear the financial cost of keeping these colonies after WW II, most areas were given independence after that war. The last 50 years have seen Asia experience rapid economic growth and gain an equal footing with Western nations. Throughout this long history, both cultures had a large influence on each other, shaping the development of their respective peoples.

The United States achieved its independence in 1783, with the Treaty of Paris. The new nation was composed of several different economic sections. Where the South and the West were generally agrarian, the Northeast, had become a center for maritime trade - a practice it had been heavily involved in before the Revolution. After that war, the Northeast merchants began to branch out and trade with other areas of the world.

Americans quickly began to trade with Asia. Initially American sailors and merchants took European goods to Asian ports and returned with Asian goods, which were prized in the United States. There was little that the United States itself produced that was sold in Asia, largely because the United States was not yet a part of the Industrial Revolution that was sweeping across Europe. This factor, plus the vast distances involved ensured that American-Asian trade was never as important as that with other regions during most of the nineteenth century. Quick fortunes were made, particularly in the opium trade. But these were exceptions to the rule.

In 1841, the first clipper ship, the Rainbow, was introduced. It had a streamlined hull, and tens of sails. These features allowed it to travel between Asia and the United States in unprecedented times. As use of clippers grew, so did the volume of trade between Asia and the United States.

In 1853, in an effort to open a nation that had closed its port to virtually all westerners, to trade Commodore Matthew Perry visited the country. In 1854, he was able to secure treaties that protected American sailors and allowed them to trade with Japan.

Meanwhile, Europe was becoming more heavily involved in the region. They sought out new markets for their goods (as well as the resources to produce them) Their military superiority allowed them to take control of much of the region. The Dutch took control of Indonesia starting in the early 17th century, and had largely consolidated their hold over the islands by the middle of the 19th century. The French occupied Indo China in 1858. Great Britain took control of Australia, and held large concessions in China (including Hong Kong) after the country defeated the Chinese in the Opium Wars of the 1840s - 50s.

Initial American encounters with Asian peoples had little of the military atmosphere that characterized European encounters with the region. This was primarily because American. interests were focused on expanding west on the continent. The American military, never very large, was preoccupied with fighting Mexicans in the 1840s, each other in the 1860s, and Indians in the 1870s and 1880s.

However, while the efforts to settle the American West superceded nearly everything, the American navy did occupy several Pacific islands to serve as whaling stations and later coaling stations for merchants.

The role of the navy in the area though, was to protect Americans in Asia - merchants, consuls, and missionaries. Thus, relations with Asia were generally better that European - Asian relations.

In the 1880s, the United States began to rapidly industrialize. Though the Industial Revolution had begun in the 1830s with textile mills in Massachusetts, its development had been limited largely to the North until after the Civil War. Moreover, with the closing of the west in 1890, Americans began to look further west - towards Asia.

The first opportunity to acquire significant Asian colonies occurred during the Spanish-American War. Although the war centered around Cuban independence, the United States also became involved with the Philippines. American naval operations against the Spanish fleet in Manila had destroyed the Spanish grip on the islands, and the Americans replaced it, fighting a vicious war against insurgents for the next several years.

Meanwhile, American planters had overthrown the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Though initially the United States was hesitant to annex the islands, the euphoria surrounding the quick victory over the Spanish, combined with perceived Japanese ambitions there, led to the annexation of the Hawaiian islands by the United States in 1898. The annexation of the Philippines and Hawaii signaled the emergence of the United States on the international scene.

America's increased commitments in the region prompted her to play more of a role in the area's affairs. Part of this increased interest was expressed militarily, and part of it economically. The U.S. navy was enlarged, and the Panama Canal was constructed. The canal allowed relatively quick access to the Pacific by the navy and by merchant traders. In 1900, the Chinese rose up against foreigners in the country. Many missionaries were killed, and most of the survivors barricaded themselves in their embassies. An international relief force, including British, French, German and American forces were sent to put down the uprising. After 55 days, the embassies were relieved by the rescue force.

In the late 1890s, Secretary of State John Hay proposed a policy which became known as the Open Door Policy. He wanted all nations trading in China to guarantee equal opportunities for trade within their respective spheres. Hay also wanted a guarantee that the foreign nations would respect the Manchu Dynasty. Though part of the offer was altruistic, part was in an effort to ensure that Americans would still be able to trade in China, which was rapidly being cut up into spheres of influence b foreign nations. Though no nation completely accepted the proposals, Hay declared them to be in effect, and, generally, all of the foreign nations in China respected the policy.

Increased American concern in the region was also manifest in Roosevelt's arbitration of a settlement to end the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05. Relations with Japan during this period were cool. In California, the state government was segregating Asian students, and when news of this reached Japan, the Japanese became outraged.

Tensions were alleviated by the Gentlemen's Agreement of 1907, in which Japan agreed to restrict the emigration of unskilled workers to the United States. In 1905, the two nations signed the Taft-Katsura memo, in which Japan pledged to abide by the Open Door Policy and recognized American ownership of the Philippines, and the United States recognized Japan's protectorate over Korea. To warn Japan that the United States would back up its policies with force, Pres. Roosevelt sent the American fleet on a "goodwill" tour across the globe.

Relations between Japan and the United States slowly continued to decay over China. Japan wanted to exploit China to gain natural resources for its economy while the United States insisted on the Open Door Policy. During World War I, Japan occupied German colonies in the Pacific and China. However, though it was allowed to keep some islands in the Pacific, it felt slighted by the treaty of Versailles.

Despite these tensions, Asian markets continued to grow, particularly in sales of industrial products, cotton, kerosene, and wheat. Conversely, America provided a growing market for Asian commodities. (American purchases of silk and silk goods composed the largest portion of Japan's export trade during the 1930s.)

In the 1920s, Naval Disarmament conferences were held in Washington and London. The resulting treaties limited the build up of capital ships in the Pacific according to set ratios. However, Japan was on the lower end of the ratios, which angered many Japanese.

In the 1930s, Japan renounced the treaties and invaded China. At first, the United States responded by condemning the action and refusing to recognize the puppet regime the Japanese set up in Manchuria. In 1937, the Japanese attacked the U.S.S. Panay, a gun ship on the Yangtze River. However, the Americans accepted a Japanese apology.

As tensions between the two countries worsened in the 1930s, their economic interdependence grew. Americans saw Asia as a market that could lift the country out of a depression. China continued to rely on American capital and technology to stimulate their economy. Japan also grew more reliant on the United States to provide it with raw materials.

In 1940, after Japanese forces occupied French Indochina, the U.S. announced an embargo on scrap metal and oil. (The Japanese military had relied primarily on American oil and metal to operate their war machine.) Negotiations to end the embargo stalled after the Americans demanded the Japanese vacate China as a prerequisite to any talks.

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and other American islands in the Pacific. Japan tried to seize Southeast Asia in an attempt to gain access to the raw materials there. Japan was however ultimately defeated. Japan agreed to unconditional surrender after America's aviators dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Relations with Asia since World War II continued to build upon past experiences, with several significant changes. On one hand economic interdependence continued to develop between the two areas. On the other had, the strategic situation in Asia had changed a great deal. Japan was totally defeated and occupied the United States military. However, the Americans reshaped the country's government, and rebuilt Japan's economic foundation. In 1952, Japan regained its sovereignty and became allied to the United States. China, switched roles as well, occupying the role Japan had previously played as America's antagonist, when Communists under Mao Zedong took control of the country in 1949

The U.S.-Chinese antagonism exploded into a major confrontation in Korea where their forces collided in 1950, and in Vietnam where Chinese-assisted Vietminh and American-supported South Vietnamese fought a long war finnaly resulting in South Vietnamese defeat in 1973. Both these wars pitted American power in defense of the status quo against communist forces in Asia determined to challenge it.

During this period, European empires, strained by the cost of the Second World War, collapsed. Colonies became replaced by independent countries. These newly independant countries, though usually not democracies were largely backed the United States during the Cold War.

Meanwhile a rift was developing between China and the Soviet Union. Although the United States was slow to identify it, President Nixon quickly exploited it. Together, China and the United States served to check Soviet aggression in the area.

Since the Second World War, the United States has taken on a much larger role in Asian affairs. This role, though successful in maintaining U.S. security, has had its price. In that process, tens of thousands of Americans were killed, even while millions of Chinese, Koreans, and Vietnamese suffered losses of life, property, and economic resources.

The increased role of the United States in the region has also had some benefits. American funds during the Cold War helped spark the rapid economic growth that has characterized the region for the past 20 years, while American peoples have provided a market for the products of this growth. These factors have created greater economic interdependence than was ever thought possible before the Second World War.

This has caused fears, especially from American labor unions that the country is becoming too dependent on manufactured products and on Asian capital as well. Despite these concerns though, it is unlikely that any change will occur in the future to disrupt this process..

Perhaps of greater significance in Asian - American relations has been the cultural interconnectedness. Postwar Asian countries, have been infused with American cultural influences. For their part, Asians have made themselves conspicuous in American society through their sheer numbers - there are now more Asian immigrants and refugees coming to the United States than from any other part of the world. Asians now compose more than 2 percent of the American population, and they have already made some significant entry into the worlds of American business, law, academia, and the mass media.

[Adapted from Text by Akira Ireye]

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