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I think they will align with whoever gives them the better deal. Since Trump is gone, and Biden is more of a globalist, of course they favor that because it’s better for them.
Asian countries like the US more when they are given more. It’s not rocket science.
Trump was a horrible messenger, and eventually an American First candidate will emerge who has none of the baggage and inexperience that Trump had, and the US foreign policy will switch once again.
So ASEAN needs to be flexible enough to bounce back to China when that inevitability happens.
I don’t blame them for putting their country first, and nobody should blame the US for putting themselves first either.
Saving SE Asia from Communism as far back as Korea in the 1950’s and the disastrous foray into Vietnam with billions of taxpayer dollars and lives lost was a bridge too far. Next time guys it’s your problem to deal with.
Saving SE Asia from Communism as far back as Korea in the 1950’s and the disastrous foray into Vietnam with billions of taxpayer dollars and lives lost was a bridge too far. Next time guys it’s your problem to deal with.
In 1945, the Vietnamese waved US flags in the streets of Hanoi and were very thankful the US liberated them from Japan. Of course, the understanding was that the US was about to give them independence.
Truman is definitely to blame for reinstating the French in Indochina, but the truth of the matter is that the precursor to the CIA lied to Truman and convinced him that propping up the French was the best course of action since Ho Chi Minh was a communist. I believe HCM could’ve been convinced to give up communism and establish a strong relationship with the US.
But again, this was before CKS was kicked off the mainland in China, so we just didn’t anticipate all the problems that would crop up later. Also, add in our own hubris due to our inflated sense of self after we had just won the war. I’m sure the feeling was we could make whatever decision we wanted and everything would fall in place because we are the mighty USA.
Hindsight is 20/20, but in a perfect world, the Vietnamese are given independence in 1945, we open a bunch of bases there and then keep CKS in power on the mainland, which would mean nobody would come to the North Koreans aid and the Korean Peninsula would have been united at some point, with South Korean rule. This scenario also means the bizarre MacArthur-Truman feud over Taiwan never happened, and then MacArthur would’ve been President and not Eisenhower. Although to be honest, I think Eisenhower to be the better man when comparing him to MacArthur.
Anyway, that’s a perfect Asia: friendly Vietnam, no communists in China, and a united Korea.
But we botched it after WWII and we have been paying the price ever since.
In 1945, the Vietnamese waved US flags in the streets of Hanoi and were very thankful the US liberated them from Japan. Of course, the understanding was that the US was about to give them independence.
How could the United States had given French Indochina independence, since it was not a US colony?
In 1945, the Vietnamese waved US flags in the streets of Hanoi and were very thankful the US liberated them from Japan. Of course, the understanding was that the US was about to give them independence.
Truman is definitely to blame for reinstating the French in Indochina, but the truth of the matter is that the precursor to the CIA lied to Truman and convinced him that propping up the French was the best course of action since Ho Chi Minh was a communist. I believe HCM could’ve been convinced to give up communism and establish a strong relationship with the US.
But again, this was before CKS was kicked off the mainland in China, so we just didn’t anticipate all the problems that would crop up later. Also, add in our own hubris due to our inflated sense of self after we had just won the war. I’m sure the feeling was we could make whatever decision we wanted and everything would fall in place because we are the mighty USA.
Hindsight is 20/20, but in a perfect world, the Vietnamese are given independence in 1945, we open a bunch of bases there and then keep CKS in power on the mainland, which would mean nobody would come to the North Koreans aid and the Korean Peninsula would have been united at some point, with South Korean rule. This scenario also means the bizarre MacArthur-Truman feud over Taiwan never happened, and then MacArthur would’ve been President and not Eisenhower. Although to be honest, I think Eisenhower to be the better man when comparing him to MacArthur.
Anyway, that’s a perfect Asia: friendly Vietnam, no communists in China, and a united Korea.
But we botched it after WWII and we have been paying the price ever since.
Well written post, and I agree with pretty much all that you said. Smaller countries don't enjoy being played as pawns.
How could the United States had given French Indochina independence, since it was not a US colony?
They could easily have done that. This comedy of errors started with the Potsdam Conference, with pre Communist China administering the northern part of Vietnam and the British doing likewise in the southern part of the country. CKS recognized HCM in the north, but in the south, the British didn’t and sort of punted the whole thing to the French. Supposedly, the US opposed this, but that seems unlikely to me, given the materiel support the US gave to the French after they seized control. I think we were complicit in letting the French try and retake their colony. International diplomacy is a give and take, perhaps we needed a concession from them somewhere in Europe and the price was Indochina? Who really knows what went on behind the scenes of recorded history?
Look, France was a mess after WWII, if we truly wanted to follow CKS and recognize HCM, we easily could have done so and sent the French home to take care of other problems.
I really don’t understand what Truman was doing in the region. It was either hubris and underestimating the will of certain ethnic Asian people, or it was greed with the knowledge that war could be manufactured and surplus weaponry could be sold. Probably both, which is a sad indictment on our way of thinking back then.
Regardless, it’s really easy to look back and see all the bad decisions. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy to do when you don’t have a pass rush to deal with.
Southeast Asians who migrate to the United States must prefer the American way.
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