Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
4-2021
Abstract
This essay examines how US Cold War policy toward all of Southeast Asia arose from American suspicions that the region's Chinese diaspora would align itself with the Chinese communists against the west. In so doing, it explores how US distrust of the Chinese diaspora fell in step with a longer imperialist tradition practised not only by the European powers for centuries, but also the Japanese Empire during its brief ascendancy during World War Two. Additionally, the essay proposes that to move beyond the bilateral studies that dominate the histories of US-Southeast Asian relations to view the region as whole, it could be productive to consider US attitudes and policies toward the region-wide Chinese diaspora.
Keywords
Chinese diaspora, Southeast Asia, Cold War, United States, colonialism, China, communism, World War II
Discipline
Asian Studies | International Relations | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Research Areas
Humanities
Publication
Diplomatic History
Volume
45
Issue
2
First Page
240
Last Page
252
ISSN
0145-2096
Identifier
10.1093/dh/dhaa084
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy L
Citation
NGOEI, Wen-Qing.(2021). The United States and the "Chinese Problem" of Southeast Asia. Diplomatic History, 45(2), 240-252.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soss_research/3268
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1093/dh/dhaa084
Included in
Asian Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons