Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 10:31 Empires at War Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 15:36 Francis Pike studied history at Cambridge and is an historian and journalist. He lived and worked for 20 years in Japan, China and India as an economic and political strategist and in this capacity, he advised a number of financial institutions as well as governments. Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 10:31 Empires at War A Short History of Modern Asia Since World War II Francis Pike Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 15:36 Published in 2010 by I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com Distributed in the United States and Canada Exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © 2010 Francis Pike The right of Francis Pike to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978 1 84885 079 8 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Typeset in Perpetua by Macmillan Publishing Solutions Printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 10:31 To India Jane and Eben and Nina, my Bombay pie-dog This page intentionally left blank Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 18:38 Contents Acknowledgements xi A Reader’s Guide xv Introduction and Background xvii Maps xxii PART I AMERICAN EMPIRE AND ITS COMPETITORS 1621–1945 1 American Empire and Its Competitors America: 1621–1945 3 The Rise of European Nations and Migration to America (p.4), The Land Motive for Independence (p.10), Westward Expansion and the Louisiana Purchase (p.12), American Setback in Canada (p.14), The Alamo and the Annexation of Texas and Florida (p.15), The Mexican War and the Seizure of California and Oregon (p.17), Railroads and Territorial Consolidation (p.19), Genocide: The Destruction of the American Indian (p.20), Population, Gold and the Pioneer Spirit (p.23), Legends of the Conquest of America (p.25), Hawaii, Cuba and the Philippines: Empire Beyond the American Continent (p.27), Trade and the Expansion of America’s Asian Interest (p.30), The Philippines: Conquest and Suppression (p.32), Theodore Roosevelt, the Panama Canal and Economic Imperialism (p.34), The Growth of ‘Moralism’ in American Politics and Foreign Policy (p.36), Emergence of America as ‘the’ Global Superpower (p.39), American Isolationism after the First World War (p.40), The Russian Empire: A Competitor to US Hegemony (p.41), Manchuria and the Rise of Japan (p.44), Isolationism Abandoned (p.49), A New Clash of Empires (p.52) PART II ASIA’S POST-WAR SETTLEMENT 2 Potsdam, Hiroshima and the Atom Bomb Japan: 1945 61 3 Mao and the Chinese Revolution China: 1945–54 70 4 Emperor Hirohito and the Tokyo War Crimes Trial Japan: 1945–8 81 5 Mahatma Gandhi: Passive Aggression India: 1945–7 94 6 ‘An Iron Curtain Has Descended’ America–Soviet Union: 1945–61 104 Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 18:38 viii EMPIRES AT WAR 7 Stalin, Mao and Truman: Post-War Alliances China: 1945–50 115 8 Chiang Kai Shek and the Flight to Taiwan Taiwan: 1945–9 122 9 MacArthur, Yoshida and the American Occupation of Japan Japan: 1945–54 130 10 Hô` Chí Minh and the Battle of Diên Biên Phu Vietnam: 1945–54 141 11 General Phibun: National Socialist Dictator Thailand: 1945–58 158 12 From Independence to Dependency Philippines: 1945–60 170 13 Lord Mountbatten and the Partition of India India–Pakistan: 1945–7 179 14 Origins of the Korean War Korea: 1945–50 192 15 Aung San: Revolutionary and Turncoat Burma: 1945–9 199 16 Sukarno: The Founding Father Indonesia: 1945–50 210 17 Independence and the Racial Contract Malaysia: 1945–57 217 18 Lee Kuan Yew: Pocket Giant Singapore: 1945–64 232 19 Capitalist Redoubt Hong Kong: 1945–97 243 PART III COLD WAR IN THE BALANCE 20 The Korean War Korea: 1950–3 257 21 The Great Leap Forward China: 1949–61 269 22 Dictatorship and Prosperity Taiwan: 1947–75 277 23 Nehru: The Fashioning of a Legend India: 1945–65 285 24 Jinnah and Pakistan’s Failed Constitution Pakistan: 1945–65 299 25 Fall of Rhee and Park’s ‘Economic Miracle’ South Korea: 1954–79 310 26 Kim II Sung: The ‘Great Leader’ North Korea: 1945–50 318 27 The Todai Oligarchs Japan: 1955–92 326 28 The Cultural Revolution China: 1961–70 340 29 Indira Gandhi: A Study in Nepotism India: 1966–84 351 30 Kennedy: Vietnam and the Vienna Summit America–Vietnam: 1954–63 366 Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 18:38 Contents ix 31 ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ Indonesia: 1950–68 376 32 LBJ and the Vietnam Quagmire Vietnam: 1963–9 391 33 The Trouble with Tigers Sri Lanka: 1945–94 406 34 Nixon in China America-China: 1969–71 420 35 The Night of the Intellectuals Bangladesh–Pakistan: 1965–73 433 36 Têt Offensive: Lost Victories America-Vietnam: 1968–75 441 37 The Bombing of Cambodia Cambodia: 1969–73 456 38 Revolution’s End: The Deaths of Mao, Zhou Enlai, Lin Biao China: 1970–6 467 39 The Murder of Aquino: The Disgrace of Ferdinand Marcos Philippines: 1960–86 475 40 Coups d’Etat: A Way of Life Thailand: 1958–91 488 41 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq Pakistan: 1973–88 498 42 Pol Pot: Deconstructionism and Genocide Cambodia: 1973–79 506 PART IV COMMUNISM IN RETREAT 43 The Gang of Four China: 1976–9 521 44 The End of the Tyrants Korea: 1979–2001 527 45 Dr Mahathir: The Acerbic Autocrat Malaysia: 1981–2003 535 46 Suharto: Rule of the Kleptocrats Indonesia: 1965–98 544 47 Rogue State North Korea: 1980–2005 558 48 Bloodlust and Revenge Bangladesh: 1971–96 568 49 Cory Aquino and the Rocky Path to Democracy Philippines: 1986–2000 576 50 Deng Xiaoping: ‘Capitalist Roader No. 2’ China: 1974–96 583 51 Benazir and Sharif: Rise and Fall of the Demagogues Pakistan: 1988–99 592 52 The Narcotic State Burma: 1948–2005 600 53 Rajiv Gandhi: The Reluctant Pilot India: 1984–9 612 54 The Tiananmen Square Massacre China: 1987–9 624 55 Property Crash and the Lost Decade Japan: 1990–2000 636 Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 21:1 x EMPIRES AT WAR 56 Narasimha Rao and the Quiet Revolution India: 1990–2003 651 57 The Savaging of the Tiger Economies Asia: 1996–8 660 58 A Bungled Surrender Hong Kong: 1980–7 671 59 One China or Two? Taiwan: 1947–2005 684 60 Nukes and Mullahs Pakistan: 1973–2005 693 PART V END OF AMERICA’S ASIAN EMPIRE 61 Asia Redux Asia: 1990–2010 705 China (p.705), Taiwan (p.707), Japan (p.708), South Korea (p.709), North Korea (p.710), Thailand (p.711), Malaysia (p.713), Singapore (p.715), The Philippines (p.716), Indonesia (p.716), Burma (p.718), India (p.718), Pakistan (p.720), Bangladesh (p.722), Sri Lanka (p.723), Vietnam (p.724), Cambodia (p.724) 62 From Cold War to End of Empire America-Asia: 1945–2010 726 ‘To Serve and Not to Dominate the World’ (p.726), The Soviet Dynamic (p.728), America’s Post-War Asian Empire (p.730), The Damning of America (p.733), Reagan and Thatcher: Anglo-Saxon Revival (p.739), Collapse of the ‘Evil’ Empire (p.741), Peace Dividend: Global Expansion of American Values (p.743), Beginning of the End of America’s Empire (p.745), Empires in Renewed Conflict? (p.749), Conclusions (p.752) Notes 757 Bibliography 801 Index 821 Pike-5480004 pike5480004_fm October 20, 2009 15:36 Acknowledgements hough I had been writing all my professional business life and occasionally for The T Spectator and other newspapers and journals, it was a significant leap to write my first book, particularly one with the ambitious scale of Empires at War. I am partic- ularly indebted to the people who advised and guided my first nervous footsteps. The historian Andrew Roberts was as prolific in his encouragement and advice as he is in his output of wonderful books. In addition, he introduced me to the equally eminent Paul Johnson whose broad-scope histories were a model for my own work; he gave me particularly useful advice on planning and notation. Addi- tionally, the support and hard work of my agent Georgina Capel and her staff at Capel & Land was essential whenever my spirits or resolve needed bracing. My editor at I.B.Tauris, Lester Crook, provided wise counsel and guidance. Historians who have been particularly helpful to my cause include Professor John Whitehead, who taught me at Cambridge University, and, as a frontier histo- rian and formerly professor of history at Alaska University, was a particularly help- ful commentator on American expansionism. Professor Norman Stone has long been a friend since we worked together on the launch of a private equity company in Eastern Europe in 1989–90 and he kindly reviewed my draft manuscript. Other historians and writers who were generous with acts of kindness or words of encouragement include Professor John Morrill of Selwyn College, Cam- bridge (my alma mater) and the following: Albert Aletzhauser, Conrad Black (Lord Black of Crossharbour), Michael Dobbs-Higginson, Flora Fraser, Leonie Frieda, Harriet Sergeant, William Shawcross, Rupert Thomson, Julian West and Daniella Zimmerman.