Powerplay; The Origins Of The American Alliance System In Asia
By Phar Kim Beng
Founder/Chair
Strategic Pan Indo-Pacific Arena
Strategicpipa.com
Twitter: @indo_pan
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Strategicpipa
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“Why is there no Nato in Asia?” has been asked and answered by various scholars, especially by Donald Crone, Amitav Acharya, Muthiah Alagappa and now Victor D. Cha, a professor in Georgetown University. The issue is why the persistent interest to ask the same question repeatedly? More importantly, beyond the scholars themselves, who wants to know? Does it even matter?
Victor D. Cha obviously felt deeply about the issue, hence, a book just to explain the difference between the European and Asian security arrangements. But this book also attempts to situate the motivation, insecurity, and fear of the United States; what Victor D Cha called “power play”. In “Power Play”, American was afraid of being entangled in another war in a faraway region when its attention was focused on Europe.
Forming a “hubs and spokes” system, otherwise known as the San Francisco Treaty system, enlarged the influence of the United States in at least four tricky countries: Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Vietnam. These were the quartet that faced one or two prospects: either they risked being swallowed whole by a Communist China or Soviet Union. In order to differentiate the threshold and spectrum of the threat from the two Communist behemoths, the United States got involved with each country on a selective, almost secretive, basis.
The key was not to be dragged into another foreign war. The “hubs and spokes” system ensured the predominance of America, but also its self-restraint across the region. The only time when the United States lost its war in Southeast Asia was Vietnam, and this happened after being persuaded by France to establish its presence in Indo China, in order to create a buffer between China’s communist influence with the rest of Southeast Asia. As history showed, France lost in the war of Dien Bian Phu to the local Vietnamese militias; while the US subsequently lost the Vietnam War too.
When wars are not easy to win, there is no reason to get easily entrapped. The “hubs and spokes” system gave the United States the right to veto any unfavorable decision; even if there was a treaty that spoke of the importance of collective defense. Victor D. Cha didn't mention the psychological state of mind of the US decision-makers and electorate. But fresh from victories against Germany then Japan, the US had become practical and sober. With the Soviet Union looming large, it was more important to deal with the Russian Bear and Chinese Dragon rather than an open and concurrent combat with one or the other. The American Alliance System, in this sense, can be known as a low threshold defense.
