Pushing Hard from the Backstage. American Influence onto the Japanese-Korean Settlement and the Contemporary Triangular Alliance in the Asia-Pacific Region

Abstrakt

When on June 22, 1965 Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK) signed the Treaty on Basic Relations between both countries, it could be supposed that from that day on both Asian democracies would strengthen their relations, act as equal partners, and be compelled to implement common policy in the region, based on their alliance with the United States. This paper provides a contextual analysis of American diplomatic correspondence in the period leading up to the Japanese-Korean settlement. The author claims that in the long-range perspective the US’s “push hard” policy toward its Asian allies caused disputes between Japan and the ROK, and the existence of a “quasi alliance” in the region.