Franco-Japanese relations in East Asia from 1932 to 1945 Jean-Sébastien Goyette East Asian Studies McGill University January 2005 A thesis submitted to McGill University in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MA in East Asian Studies © Jean-Sébastien Goyette 2005 Library and Bibliothèque et 1+1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'édition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votre référence ISBN: 0-494-12723-6 Our file Notre référence ISBN: 0-494-12723-6 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant à la Bibliothèque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par télécommunication ou par l'Internet, prêter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des thèses partout dans loan, distribute and sell th es es le monde, à des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, électronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriété du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protège cette thèse. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. ln compliance with the Canadian Conformément à la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privée, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont été enlevés de cette thèse. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. ••• Canada 2 French Abstract Ce travail concerne les relations Franco-Japonaises en Asie de l'est entre 1932 et 1945. Afin de réaliser ce but, il examine les comportements français envers les japonais à Shanghai et en Indochine, la position de la France durant des événements tels que le Shanghai Incident de 1932, sa politique durant le conflit Sino-Japonais ainsi que son rôle changeant et sa position en Asie de l'est pendant les années 30 et 40, surtout avec les changements apportés par la deuxième guerre mondiale. Ce travail rapporte aussi comment la France, ainsi que d'autres pays occidentaux, voyaient le Japon et l'Asie de l'est, ainsi que comment ça a affecté les relations Est-Ouest durant cette période. Finalement, ce travail décrit les relations complexes qui existaient entre Vichy France, la France Libre, l'Indochine ainsi que le Japon. Il termine avec la description d'événements tels que l'attaque japonaise sur Pearl Harbor, ce qui a mené à l'éventuelle occupation complète des territoires français en Asie de l'est et au dommage irréparable à la position de la France en Asie de l'est. 3 English abstract This paper relates to Franco-Japanese relations between 1932 and 1945 in East Asia. In order to do this, it examines French behavior towards the Japanese in Shanghai and Indochina, France's position during incidents such as the 1932 Shanghai Incident, its policy during the Sino-Japanese conflict as weIl as its changing role and position in East­ Asia during the 1930s and 1940s, especially with the changes brought upon by the Second World War. This paper also pays attention to how France, as weIl as other Western nations, viewed Japan and East Asia, as weIl as how it affected East-West relations during this period. FinaIly, the paper describes the complex relations that existed between Vichy France, Free France, Indochina as weIl as Japan. It ends with events such at the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, that led to the eventual Japanese takeover of French territories in East Asia and the irreparable damage to France's position in East Asia. 4 Acknowledgements l would like to thank aIl those who have helped me in completing this thesis. First of aIl, Professor Lorenz Luthi who greatly aided me in identifying and c1arifying the subject of my paper, guided me through the research process as weIl as supervising the writing process. AIso, l would like to thank Professor Margaret Kuo for taking over Professor Luthi' s role in aiding me to finish my thesis as weIl as agreeing to serve as the internaI examiner in its correction. Furthermore, l would like to thank Professors Peter Button, Tom Lamarre and Nicholas Dew for accepting to be an external examiner in the correction of my thesis. 5 Introduction Throughout the past centuries, France had a foothold in Asia but it wasn't until the middle of the 19th Century that it secured acquisitions in the Far East. The most important of these were in Shanghai and lndochina. During the following decades, France's East Asia policy was one of strict neutrality. This pennitted France to maintain a friendly relationship with Japan, thus delaying Franco-Japanese conflict until the last period of World War II. The pre-conditions of Franco-Japanese relations were simple: in exchange for Japan not advancing on French territory, France turned a blind eye to Japanese military activities in China and other parts of East Asia. However, in the early 1930s, Japan's efforts to create an East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere put an end to France's neutrality, shattered its image as a powerful Western nation in the Far East and led to the French ultimately losing territory and power in East Asia. The main reasons why France didn't stand up to Japan in East Asia are the following. First of all, France maintained a Eurocentric view of East Asia. France's leaders believed that all events of importance would be settled in Europe. For them, the Far East wasn't considered as a crucial part in French foreign policy and the Japanese were not seen as an authentic power that had to be taken seriously. Therefore, France neglected its assets in China and lndochina. Another factor that contributed to France's demise in East Asia was the political instability and subsequent war in Europe. During the 1930s, France was more preoccupied with the Spanish Civil War and the increase ofpower in Nazi Gennany than conflicts occurring in East Asia. The rise of Sino-Japanese tension is a prime example of 6 this. This preoccupation with European events led the French government to not pay attention to the Japanese advances in East Asia, neglect its military power in lndochina, and ignore pleas for reinforcements from French nationals in the region. A third point this paper will examine is the disorganization and lack of communication that existed between Japanese and French officiaIs throughout this period. The biggest problem was that French representatives in East Asia didn't possess real authority to make decisions conceming French policy in East Asia and Franco­ Japanese relations. Consequently, the French government in Paris did not support sorne of their local representatives' policies. Other French politicians in East Asia simply acted independently from Paris. Furthermore, in more than one instance, simultaneous Franco­ Japanese talks and negotiations were occurring. These multiple agreements often led to contradictory results. This research will demonstrate that for these reasons, France was by no means prepared to deal with Japan in the 1930s and that as a consequence, in Franco­ Japanese relations, France desperately tried to retain its territory in East Asia. This struggle to preserve French sovereignty in China and lndochina meant maintaining a peaceful relationship with Japan. However, in most instances, Tokyo dominated Paris. In order to elaborate on these reasons, this paper will present in chronological order the events that took place between 1932 and 1945 in East Asia. First of all, Franco­ Japanese instability in the status quo began in the Shanghai French Concession in the early 1930s. Afterwards, important Franco-Japanese talks continued in lndochina throughout the following decade. In the early 1940s, the focus of negotiations between 7 Paris and Tokyo came back to Shanghai. In 1932, shortly after the Manchurian Incident!, J apanese o ffic ers claimed J apanese citizens needed protection in Shanghai and consequently occupied Shanghai, including its French Concession. Although Japanese troops soon left the French territory, this Shanghai Incident shattered France's beliefthat it was invulnerable in East Asia. Furthermore, it demonstrated that it didn't have the capability to resist foreign aggression in the Far East. This refusaI to stand up to Japan in order to keep it on its friendly side became France's East Asian policy for the following decade. Franco-J apanese relations encountered a new obstacle in September 1937. Earlier that summer, the Sino-J apanese conflict had officially begun. In the process of that war, Japan was expanding throughout Chinese and East Asian territory. Soon, Japan took over the French owned island of Hainan, the Spratly Islands as weIl as the Paracel Islands. Contrary to French popular desire in France and East Asia, Paris didn't take action against the Japanese aggression. As a result, the French government showed its lack of resolve in defending its territory. The same year, Japanese troops once more occupied the Shanghai French Concession. France again remained passive to Japanese movements in the metropolis, because it was preoccupied with events happening in Europe and also because it didn't want to provoke the Japanese military.