British Diplomacy and the Origins of the US-Japan Alliance 1948-50

The Creation of Postwar Security Framework of the Asia-Pacific

Abstract

It should not be ignored that the British Government played a critical role in making the US-Japan Alliance between 1948-1950. Britain was a “coordinator” of concerned countries in the Asia-Pacific to make the postwar security framework.
While the “German problem” dominated the other security issues in the postwar Europe, the “Japan problem”, namely haw to secure with and against Japan, overshadowed the other security issues in the early postwar Asia-Pacific. The US government tried to create a Pacific pact, which covered the “off-shore islands chain” in the Asia-Pacific. However, the British Government thought it unrealistic, since only America could secure the region militarily. No other Powers could play such a role in place of America, and it did not seem effective to make such a group in this region as the interests were considerably divergent. Therefore, it was thought by the British Government that the US-Japanese bilateral defense pact was the best measure to create the security framework in the region. Thereby Japan would be contained and secured by the US forces in Japan, and the both sides of the Japan problem could be solved. Despite the preponderance of power, and depite the responsibility in the region, and also despite the authority to create it, the US Government alone could hardly achieve the postwar peace settlement of the Asia-Pacific, without this significant influence of the pragmatic British diplomacy.