Conception of collective security in the Pacific region

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The concept of collective security in the Pacific region was intended to counteract the resistance to Japan's rearmament after the Second World War by creating an agreement for mutual assistance (Pacific Agreement) . However, it was not implemented.

This concept was first considered in the spring of 1950 when the plan for a peace treaty with Japan arose. In view of the threat from the USSR , the US changed its occupation policy in Japan and aimed at recognizing Japan's independence in order to add it as a member of the "western" camp. But recognizing Japan's independence meant that it would be freed from restrictions on its sovereignty and that it could rebuild military power. Therefore, Australia , New Zealand , and the Philippines strongly opposed Japan's independence. The US tried to allay these states' fears of a renewed threat from Japan by proposing the idea of collective security in the Pacific.

It can be said that this conception would have led to an Asian NATO . The concept was similar to the Pleven Plan , which intended to rule out a renewed threat from Germany . In the conception of the USA in Asia , Japan, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Indonesia should conclude the Pacific Agreement, a loose military alliance. However, no joint army and no single command were planned, only an agency for regular negotiations.

For various reasons this conception ended in failure and never materialized. First, Britain , Indochina and other countries were excluded from the design of the Pacific Agreement, which Britain protested violently. Second, it was difficult to put the Asian countries' military cooperation into practice. Most importantly, Japan had no intention of participating in such an agreement. Japan at the time was extremely cautious about rearmament and did not actively prepare to participate in a system of regional collective security because that would mean changing the Japanese constitution.

As a result, the USA concluded the ANZUS agreement with Australia and New Zealand , thereby guaranteeing the security of these two countries. The United States signed a similar security treaty with the Philippines. As a result, the security situation in East Asia and the Pacific was very different from that in Europe . To counteract a threat from Japan, various countries concluded bilateral agreements with the USA; a system of collective security was ultimately not to come about until today.