The East Asian Theater of War from 1937 to 1953 - Report Example

The East Asian Theater of War from 1937 to 1953 East Asia was embroiled in two major conflicts involving external players, as well as the entire EastAsian region. The Sino-Japanese conflict began as a localized trouble between neighboring countries but escalated into an episode of the Second World War. In contrast, the Korean War was an expression of internationalized conflict being fought between two portions of the same country. It is no doubt that both wars ended up in stalemate and required external impetus to come to a new status quo. The results of both wars were also far reaching both in terms of history and political geography, as well as the socio-economic conditions of the people in the entire region. The conflict between China and Japan was spread well over centuries. Invasions had been a feature of life in the region between Japan and China. However, the technology gained by the Japanese in the twentieth century, especially with regards to military technology, was to make this war one of the deadliest on the planet. Skirmishes had been ongoing between the Chinese and the Japanese since 1931 but full scale war had not been initiated until 1937 with the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. For the first two years, the Japanese were able to push victories to their advantage banking on the discipline and the technology which the Japanese Imperial Army could boast. However, by 1939 the war in China had come to a stalemate due to the Chinese victories at Guangxi and Changsha. While these victories had been claimed by the Chinese military, another wave of uprising against the Japanese was carried out by the communists in Shaanxi. This wave was also able to hold the Japanese bogged in this war. For another two years, the situation continued unabated as such. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 transformed this conflict into something much bigger as it opened up the Pacific theater of war within the context of the Second World War. It is highly probable that if the Japanese did not attack the United States there would have been little changes in the situation on ground. Stalemate would have continued as such between both sides which, in turn, could have led to the delay of forming a new China after the Second World War was over. The Japanese had always looked to China as a rich source of material reserves, as well as a supply of food and cheap labor. In order to gain advantage of these resources for Japanese imperialist ambitions, it was necessary that the Japanese should have been able to capture the Chinese mainland to establish a Japanese order. War seemed to be the only option out for the Japanese royal family to claim the Chinese mainland as a Japanese colony. Before the war, Japan was a prosperous nation on its way to improvements in socio-economic conditions for the average man. The rapid industrialization and the rising technological prowess of Japan were diverted by a selected few to fulfill imperialist ambitions starting out with China. The Japanese over confident moves in China and the resulting stalemate should have taught the ruling elite that wars tended to pursue their own paths once initiated. However, rising Japanese ambition in the Pacific embroiled the United States into the war. The onslaught of war was disastrous on both sides. The Chinese losses are well documented and well acclaimed in terms of brutality. The Rape of Nanking, for instance, is a famous example of Japanese brutality displayed in order to subdue the Chinese. The Chinese casualties during the war were between 20 million to 35 million (Waldron); the onslaught of this war destroyed the Chinese economy completely. As to the Japanese Empire, it was effectively dismantled as a result of this war. The war and its consequences put an end to Japan’s being a regional superpower. The American occupation of Japan through the Postdam Declaration (Bailey) meant that the Japanese imperialist ambitions had turned the nation’s future upside down. The American occupation of Japan was meant to forge a new nation that was more attached to Western values than the traditional Japanese values that were seen as being responsible for Japanese aggression. Furthermore, it was ensured that Japan’s teeming industrial progress was not diverted in the future to aggression and expansionist agendas. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Japanese were effectively removed from global and regional politics at all scales and levels. In contrast, the Korean War was a different story altogether. The Korean War emerged as an aftermath of the Second World War. This war was more of a reflection of emerging global political realities than anything else. The Second World War had eliminated the multipolar world order and had instead conglomerated it into a bipolar concept. The emerging rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union led to a number of proxy wars amongst which the Korean conflict was, perhaps, the first. The northern end of the country was supported by the Chinese and the Soviets to some extent, while the southern end of the country was supported by the Allies. Tension had started to build in Korea as early as in 1947 when troops were being mobilized and military movements were discernable (Cummings). Delays in holding elections made the 38th parallel an active border between the north and the south of Korea. The North established a communist government while the South established a capitalist government (Devine, Breen and Frederickson). Active war between the Northern and Southern Korean troops began in 1950 but it led to a stalemate across the 38th parallel. The Korean peninsula saw Soviet forces in the North and Allied forces placed in the South. By July 1951, the war had gone into stalemate and neither of the sides were able to advance. This situation eventually culminated in the form of an armistice signed between the respective sides in 1953. As per the conditions settled in the armistice, the 38th parallel was recognized as the active border between the North Korea and the South Korea making both independent nations. Consequently, the South Korean nation and economy was supported by the Americans and their allies, while North Korea was supported by the Chinese. The result was the differentiated paths for both sides in terms of historical development and socio-economic conditions. Works Cited Bailey, Paul J. Postwar Japan from 1945 to the Present. London: Blackwell Publishers, 2009. Print. Cummings, Bruce. Koreas Place in the Sun: A Modern History. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1990. Print. Devine, Robert A., et al. America’s Past and Present. Part II: Since 1865. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. Print. Waldron, Arthur. "Chinas New Remembering of World War II: The Case of Zhang Zizhong." Modern Asian Studies 30(4), 1996: 972. Read More