After the end of the World War 2, countries in Pacific Asia have risen from the effects of the war to become an economic powerhouse in the world to date. Leading g the pack are countries like Japan and China. Countries in this region are characterized by diverse political, economic, Social and cultural diversity. After the world war, many of the soldiers in the region returned home to find destroyed economies and infrastructure. In this region, unemployment was at its all time high. In Japan, particularly a decade after the war the country’s gross domestic product was barely ten percent. South Korea one of the countries in the region was compared to some of the poorest countries in Africa.
After the war, these states were characterized by new regimes that sought to reconstruct the countries. These regimes resulted in the use of strict state control and regulation as a tool to control to put in place structures of governance structures to rule over the people. Although state control and intervention has led to economic rise, rights and freedoms of the people were greatly curtailed by the use of state machinery. The living standards of the people also remained low despite the economic rise. After the war, the Asian pacific region was characterized by numerous conflicts such as the Korean peninsula conflict. In 1951, the United States drafted the San Francisco Peace treaty that was signed by Japan and other forty-eight countries. This treaty was to provide clear border demarcation in the Pacific Asia region of the world. This treaty was drafted six years after the end of the World War 2. The peace treaty went through a series of modifications in the course of its drafting for example, china was awarded Taiwan as part of its territory, the USSR was given the Kure Islands, Korea was awarded the Tekeshima all this earlier proposals were later amended, and Tekeshima was declared a territory of Japan.
The ensuring cold war after the world war led to vested interests in drafting the treaty. The United States that were leading the peace deal used this opportunity to secure Japan as an ally in the cold war. Japan was therefore, the largest beneficiary of the peace treaty. During the cold war at the time, North Korea and China established themselves as communist states in the region. This division led to the establishment of the Acheson line in1950. Japan and the Philippines were included as part of the United States Western Pacific defense area. In June 1950, the United States stand on the Korea and China hardened and this inevitably led to the outbreak of the Korean War. China, who was viewed as a supporter of North Korea was slapped with an embargo. The cold war tensions in Pacific Asia remain to date, and the United States still keeps its military presence to date. The United States used the allocation of territories in the region as a bargaining chip and a cold war strategy.
Diverse forms of government characterize the Asian Pacific region Japan has a parliamentary system, Burma has a military junta as the government and Brunei has a monarchical form of government. He cold war dynamic has structured how countries in the region related to the United States and Russia. The states that embraced communism in the region-pursued industrialization at all costs, this has led to over utilization of the resources in these countries such as China. The Region also experienced rapid urbanization and deforestation in the region as most forests were turned into agricultural lands.
The region also experienced rapid population growth rates this led to problems of managing the demands of the increasing populace. During the cold war period, the region of Pacific Asia was characterized by widespread poverty. The United States and the Soviet Union battled for control of the region such as mainland China, Indochina and the Korean Peninsula. The United States used enmity in the region to foster its interests in the region.
At the height of the cold war in the region, the United States singed various treaties with other nations apart from Japan. This was in order to secure its interest and beat the Soviet Union in controlling the region. These countries were Thailand, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. The US also made efforts to strengthen ties with other allies it had entered into an agreement with before such as Malaysia. The major gainer in the region during the cold war was in Japan. The country was favored in the allocation of territories in the region other states such as a China were sidelined. This has led to tensions to exist in the region until today with the United States seeing China as a major threat to its economic and military authority in the world.
Japan, which was the principal beneficiary of the cold war relations with the United States, has experienced unprecedented success both economically and politically. Japan went on to become the world’s second largest economy only rivaled by the US. Japan is so successful; it was ranked as the number one aid donor in the world. This relationship has helped Japan to grow its technological prowess to rival the US. China over the past decade has transformed itself to become among the largest economies in the world. Its economic and political success has grown rapidly. Its influence and reach is quickly spreading especially in Africa where Chinese companies are investing heavily backed by their government. Its military prowess is slowly rising. This has made western countries very wary about their relations with China.
The biggest loser of the cold war is with a doubt North Korea. This country as compared to the rest in the region is far much behind in all aspects of development. It is economic, social and political development is still extremely under strict government control. The majority of the population poverty-stricken and the country cannot be able to feed the population and relies on food aid from its allies such as China. The country is also at the heart of the growing tensions in the region especially with its neighbor South Korea.
Other countries that have risen from the ruins of the world war and emerged to be an economic powerhouse in Asia from the Pacific region are Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, the cold war tensions remain up to date. The major players in Pacific Asia are undoubted the United States and Russia. The latter has used the enmity within the region especially from territorial struggles to ensure its interests prevail. Russia under the former USSR is another major player this is because the cold war sentiments are still widely felt in the Pacific Asia. China, for example, has continued to apply the communist system of governance to date. These two countries are the major players in the region. However with the continued emergence of China as an economic giant in the continent the regions balance of power is set to change and tilt towards China.
References
Kaup, Kathrein Palmer. Understanding Contemporary Asia Pacific. California: Lynne Rienner, 2007.
McDougall, Derek. Asia Pacific in World Politics. California: Lynne Rienner, 2007.
