China Summit Situation in Taiwan Vietnam War Chinese Relationship with Soviet Union c. By: Paul Sabharwal and Anjali Jain
I. Introduction In the 1970 s, the United States decided that allying with China would be beneficial to their country. The current president of the United States, Henry Nixon, asked Henry Kissinger, the National Security Advisor to establish a meeting with China s leaders to establish a relation between the two countries. The China at first didn t express much interest in an alliance; however, Kissinger was informed in a meeting with the Romanian President Ceausecu that Ceausecu had sent his vice-premier to Beijing, and a note was given to the vice-premier by Chinese Premier Zhou. In the note, China expressed that the main problem was America s occupation in Taiwan. Zhou then proceeded to invite Nixon to Beijing to discuss the issue. In 1971, Henry Kissinger was sent to China to set up the meeting between Nixon and Zhou. This committee commences at the beginning of 1971, before Kessinger goes to China. II. Situation in Taiwan In October 1949, after the Communist faction led by Chairman Mao won the Chinese Civil War, Chiang Kai-shek and the remnants of his army fled to the island of Formosa 1 (Taiwan), along with 1.5 million Chinese refugees. They still asserted their leadership over mainland China, proclaiming Taipei the temporary capital of all China. Martial Law was declared on the island, and would not be removed until 38 years later. The government of the 1 2002. BBC News Asia Pacific Taiwan Elections 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/asia_pacific/2000/taiwan_elections2000/1949_1955.stm.
Republic of China (ROC) was formed, claiming to represent all of China while in reality controlling only the island of Formosa. At first, the United States did not have a large role in the conflict between the ROC and the Communist mainland government, the PRC. However, after the start of the Korean War in 1950, U.S. and PRC relations suffered a major break. With Chinese soldiers fighting against the South Korean and U.S. troops, it became politically necessary for the U.S. to sever relationships with the PRC and forge closer ties with the ROC. 2 To many, Taiwan was seen as a bulwark against Communist expansion that the U.S. had to support. In December 1950, the U.S. froze all Chinese assets in America and the PRC responded 3 by seizing U.S. assets and properties in China. U.S.-Taiwan relations were strengthened in 1954 with the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. 4 Relations between the countries remained similar until 1968, when the U.S. began winding down operations in Vietnam. To the PRC, this signalled that the U.S. was less of a threat to their interests, and increased relations could be beneficial to counter the increased threat of aggression from the Soviets. In late 1971, with the PRC gaining more international recognition, the UN voted to award China s permanent seat on the Security Council to the PRC, at the expense of Taiwan. 5 2 Tucker, Nancy Bernkopf. 1983. Patterns in the Dust: Chinese-American Relations and the Recognition Controversy, 1949-1950. Columbia University Press. 3 Redick, Charles Ford. 1973. The Jurisprudence of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission: Chinese Claims. The American Journal of International Law 67, no. 4: 728-740. 4 2008. Avalon Project - Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States... http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/chin001.asp. 5 2003. General Assembly Resolutions 26th Session - the United Nations. http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/26/ares26.htm.
However, tensions over Taiwan are still present between the US and PRC. China insists that countries wanting to establish diplomatic ties with them must break ties with Taiwan. 6 Furthermore, in the US some politicians are beginning to doubt Taiwan s value as an ally against Communist China. The situation in Taiwan will be a major point of contention during the US-China Summit, as delegates and leaders must decide whether to stay with old allies or court new ones. III. Vietnam War In 1954, Ho Chi minh and the Communist party rose to power in North Vietnam after defeating their former colonizers, the French. After the French were defeated, a treaty was signed 7 splitting Vietnam into north and south, with elections to be held in 1956. However, the strong anti-communist Ngo Dinh Diem took power in the south. He was firmly supported by the US President Eisenhower. War began between the Communist north and the capitalist south. The U.S. sent equipment to aid the south, and by 1962 there would be over 10,000 American troops 8 in Vietnam. In August 1964, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution was passed in Congress in response to a reported Vietnamese attack on U.S. ships. This gave President Johnson the power to take 9 any military action he deemed necessary in Vietnam. The U.S. then entered the war directly, 6 2002. Taiwan timeline - BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/asia_pacific/2000/taiwan_elections2000/default.stm. 7 2014. Vietnam War - History.com. http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/vietnam-war-history. 8 2015. Timeline of the Vietnam War - History Learning Site. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/vietnam-war/timeline-of-the-vietnam-war/. 9 2002. Battlefield:Vietnam - PBS. http://www.pbs.org/battlefieldvietnam/.
and by 1965 there were 200,000 American troops present. Meanwhile, the Chinese had been supporting the North Vietnamese with both economic and military aid. From 1965-1969, it would send over 300,000 military-related personnel to aid Vietnam. 10 Chinese shipments of food were also crucial in the success of North Vietnam. In January 1968 the Viet Cong launched the Tet Offensive. The operation was a tactical failure, as American troops soon recaptured all territory lost, however it was a political and strategic boost for the North Vietnamese, as it made Americans question the war effort and made it seem as if no end was in sight. 11 Later that year U.S. troop numbers would reach their high point at over 500,000. The next year, the U.S. begins secretly bombing supply routes in Cambodia. However, as a result of anti-war sentiment and demonstrations, Washington began scaling back the war effort and by 1971, only 280,000 U.S. troops remained in Vietnam. The Chinese, though, continued supplying North Vietnam. However, tensions did develop between the PRC and North Vietnam when the Soviets began sending supplies to the North Vietnamese as well. This becomes an issue as during the 1960 s, the Soviet Union and China see a split in their interests and there are a series of border clashes between them. However, receiving Soviet aid, the North Vietnamese decide to strengthen relationships with the USSR. Facing protest at home, in 1971 the U.S. needs a way to resolve the war in vietnam, while still preventing the spread of Communism throughout Asia. An agreement of friendship with the 10 Womack, Brantly. 2006. China and Vietnam: The politics of asymmetry. Cambridge University Press, February 13. 11 2008. Vietnam War Timeline - English. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/vietnam/timeline.htm.
Chinese could help to persuade the North Vietnamese to compromise, realizing their weaker position. For their part, the Chinese are strained already preparing for possible conflict with the Soviet Union. North Vietnam is allying more closely with Moscow than with Beijing, and the Chinese must decide whether to step up efforts to court the Vietnamese to their side, in an effort that increasingly did not seem worth the cost in resources and the cost of Sino-American hostility, or to pursue an entirely different strategy elsewhere. IV. Relationship With Soviet Union After the People s Republic of China was established, it relied on an alliance with the Soviet Union in its early years. 12 This alliance became stronger after the Korean War. This caused problems with the U.S, as most negotiations had to go through Moscow, giving the Soviets a stronger position. However, during the 1960 s a Sino-Soviet split began to form as a result of ideological differences and power struggles. The Chinese especially accused the Soviets of revisionism and causing a split in Communism. 13 The split widened, in 1960 the Soviets, fearing increased Chinese power, removed their technicians from China and terminated their support of China s effort to create an atomic bomb. 14 By 1963 it was clear that there was a 12 Chen, Jian. The Sino-Soviet Alliance and China's Entry into the Korean War. Washington, DC: Cold War International History Project, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, 1992. https://www.wilsoncenter.org/sites/default/files/acfae7.pdf 13 "Modern History Sourcebook: Chinese Communist Party: The Leaders of the CPSU Are the Greates Splitters of Our Times, February 4, 1964." Modern History Sourcebook: Chinese Communist Party: The Leaders of the CPSU Are the Greatest Splitters of Our Times, February 4, 1964. Accessed October 01, 2016. http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/mod/1964ccp-oncpsu.html. 14 Lewis, John Wilson, and Litai Xue. China Builds the Bomb. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1988.
significant divide between the PRC and USSR. This was very good news for American leaders, who hoped to take advantage of the situation for diplomatic leverage. 15 They could now negotiate separately with Moscow and Beijing, giving them a better strategic position. Sino-Soviet relations continued to decline, and their alliance eventually collapsed in 1966 due to rivalry between the Chinese and Soviets over North Vietnam s allegiance. 16 This would lead in the late 1960 s to a series of border conflicts between the PRC and USSR as both sides massed troops on their borders. Several border skirmishes broke out, and in 1969 there was even the possibility of a nuclear strike on China by the USSR. China to establish relations with the United States. 18 17 This led to an increased pressure on Establishing a more friendly relationship with the US would give the PRC a greater strategic position as it could negotiate with and court both the USSR and US, as well as deterring either from aggressive action towards them. The United States similarly saw an opportunity to increase its own power by dealing with China. This would give it a negotiating advantage over the USSR, and they could pit the two Communist superpowers against each other. 19 Also, there was the possibility of striking mutually beneficial deals with the Chinese that might run counter 15 "Rupture between USSR and China Grows Worse." History.com. Accessed October 01, 2016. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rupture-between-ussr-and-china-grows-worse. 16 Luthi, Lorenz M. The Sino-Soviet Split: Cold War in the Communist World. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008. 17 Gerson, Michael S. The Sino-Soviet Border Conflict: Deterrence, Escalation, and the Threat of Nuclear War in 1969. Arlington, VA: CNA, 2010. 18 Ross, Robert S. China, the United States, and the Soviet Union: Tripolarity and Policy Making in the Cold War. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1993. 19 "Soviet Union and Chinese Armed Forces Clash." History.com. Accessed October 01, 2016. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/soviet-union-and-chinese-armed-forces-clash.
to Soviet interests. As the Chinese began to view the Soviets as more of a threat than the Americans, and the US saw China as a power they could negotiate with, each was given a large incentive to establish a better relationship, starting with the 1971-2 US-China Summit. V. Committee Details As this is an unorthodox committee, the standard Parliamentary Procedure will be modified slightly. The committee is meant to simulate the forging of agreements between the US and China, so all resolutions should take the form of formal agreements between the US and PRC. Because of this, resolutions must be passed with a majority vote within both the Chinese and American delegations. Resolutions may be drafted both by members of only one delegation or by members of each delegation. If a resolution is drafted solely by members of one delegation, it must be presented by that delegation s leader (President Nixon or Chairman Mao). If a resolution is drafted by members of each delegation, it will be presented by all sponsoring members. During the committee, both moderated and unmoderated caucuses will be used. There will be no separation between the delegations, however either delegation may choose to hold private discussions during unmoderated caucuses if they wish. During moderated caucuses, delegates may pass notes to other delegates of the same nation, however they may not do so with delegates of the other nation (with the exception of Kissinger and Zhou Enlai).
Because the committee is meant to simulate leaders reaching an agreement on many pressing concerns, and these agreements may span multiple topics, debate will not be broken up into topic as it is in many Model UN committees. Instead, debate will encompass all issues, although it is suggested that moderated caucuses have a specific and stated topic of discussion. Resolutions will be drafted and presented at multiple points during the committee, and it is up to the chair s discretion when voting procedure will occur. Due to the nature of the committee and the small number of delegates, there should be no more than one or two resolutions being written at any one time, and delegates are expected to engage in discussion and negotiation during caucuses before presenting resolutions. During the committee, there will likely be crises that will introduce new issues to the discussion or change the balance of power in certain areas. Because of this, it is suggested and expected that delegates familiarize themselves with many aspects of international affairs surrounding the time period (these could include relations with Japan, Laos and Cambodia, Korea, etc.). Debate will focus on the topics presented earlier, however knowledge of other issues is important. A Start for Further Research: http://china.usc.edu/getting-beijing-henry-kissingers-secret-1971-trip
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/china/sfeature/nixon.html https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/b/burr-kissinger.html http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsaebb/nsaebb106/