Paper Tiger - Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (Seato) as An Ineffectual Pact and Its Regional Political Impacts

Abstract

There are not many academic studies on Southeast Asian politics in our country. The most important reasons for this are the geographical distance of the region to our country and the academic disinterest of the researchers to this region. SEATO, which is in parallel with CENTO in terms of the reasons for its establishment, is a US-supported defence pact created in order to bring peace and stability to Southeast Asia. SEATO was designed to combat riots and attacks stemming from communism in the Cold War conjuncture in Southeast Asia. The Manila Treaty, which served as the SEATO convention, was signed in 1954 by the United States, Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines. After being approved by all member states, in February 1955 he began active work as an alliance. Throughout its twenty-two-year history, SEATO has achieved some successes in regional peace, but has also suffered serious failures. Under the SEATO umbrella, failure to take joint action against the communist threat in Vietnam has made the alliance's confidence element fragile. SEATO's inability to act with unity and determination, and political conflicts among alliance members, adversely affected the future of the alliance. The geographical distance between the member states of the Alliance, the loss of the Vietnam War, along with the US willingness to act on its own, led SEATO to become a low-profile security pact. In this study, SEATO, which is one of the biggest factors that has deeply affected Southeast Asia, is aimed to be better understood in our country and the establishment, function and regional effects of this pact, which was created by the initiatives of great powers, especially the USA, will be examined.

Keywords

• SEATO,Southeast Asia

Kâğıt Kaplan- Zayıf Bir Pakt Olarak Güneydoğu Asya Antlaşması Teşkilatı (Seato) ve Bölgesel Siyasi Etkileri

Abstract

Güneydoğu Asya politiği hakkında ülkemizde çok fazla akademik çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bunun en önemli nedenleri arasında bölgenin ülkemize olan coğrafi uzaklığı ve araştırmacıların bu bölgeye akademik anlamda ilgisizliği gösterilebilir. Kuruluş sebepleri açısından CENTO ile paralellik gösteren SEATO, Güneydoğu Asya Antlaşması Teşkilatı, Güneydoğu Asya'ya barış ve istikrar getirmek amacıyla oluşturulmuş, ABD liderliğinde bir savunma paktıdır. SEATO, Güneydoğu Asya bölgesinde Soğuk savaş konjonktüründe komünizm kaynaklı isyan ve saldırılarla mücadele etmek için tasarlanmıştı. SEATO’nun ilk adımı olan Manila Antlaşması 1954'te ABD, İngiltere, Fransa, Avustralya, Yeni Zelanda, Pakistan, Tayland ve Filipinler tarafından imzalanmıştır. Tüm üye ülkeler tarafından onaylandıktan sonra, Şubat 1955’te çalışmalarına başlamıştır. Yirmi iki yıllık tarihi boyunca SEATO’nun bölgesel barışa yönelik bazı başarıları olmakla birlikte ciddi başarısızlıkları da olmuştur. SEATO şemsiyesi altında, Vietnam'daki komünist tehdide karşı ortak harekete geçilmemesi ittifakın içerisindeki güven unsurunu kırılgan hale getiren bir olay olmuştur. SEATO'nun birlik ve kararlılıkla hareket edememesi, ittifak üyelerinin birbirlerine zıt çıkar çatışmalarına girmesi, ittifakın geleceğini olumsuz yönde etkilemiştir. İttifak üyesi ülkeler arasındaki coğrafi uzaklık, ABD’nin bölgede kendi başına hareket etme isteği ile birlikte Vietnam Savaşı’nın kaybedilmesi, SEATO’nun düşük profilli bir güvenlik paktı haline gelmesine neden oldu. Bu çalışmada, güneydoğu Asya’ya derinden etki etmiş en büyük faktörlerden birisi olan SEATO’nun ülkemizde daha iyi anlaşılması amaçlanarak, ABD başta olmak üzere büyük güçlerin girişimleriyle ortaya çıkan bu paktın kuruluşu, işlevi ve bölgesel etkileri irdelenecektir.

Keywords

• Güneydoğu Asya,ABD,Vietnam Savaşı,soğuk savaş

References

1. Ball, W. M. (1954). Political Re-Examination of Seato. International Organization, Vol. 12, No. 1, 17-25, s.17.
2. Brodkin, E. I. (1967). United States and to India and Pakistan: The Attitudes of the Fifties. International Affairs, Vol. 43, No.4, 664-677.
3. Buszynski, L. (1981). SEATO: Why It Survived until 1977 and Why It Was Abolished. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2, 287-296.
4. Chong, M. D., & Maisrikrod, S. (2017). Charting Thailand’s Maritime Security Policies from 1932 to 2012: A Liberal International Relations Perspective. N. Tarling, & X. Chen içinde, Maritime Security in East and Southeast Asia Political Challenges in Asian Waters (s. 145-206). Singapore: Springer Nature.
5. Chopra, P. (1975). The American Connection: Still in Demand. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 10, No. 37, 1459-1460.
6. Closa, C. (2016). Governance structures and processes in integration organizations Formalization of institutional credible commitments for governance. C. Closa, & L. Casini içinde, Comparative Regional Integration - Governance and Legal Models. (s. 1-153). Cambridge,UK: Cambridge University Press.
7. Di Floristella, A. P. (2015). The ASEAN Regional Security Partnership Strengths and Limits of a Cooperative System . Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
8. Dingman, R. (1989). John Foster Dulles and the Creation of the South-East Asia Treaty Organization in 1954. The International History Review, 11:3, 457-477.

9. FRUS. (1952-1954). Foreign Relations of the United States, 12, 758-761, 776-778. Mart 13, 2019 tarihinde https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v12p1/pg_761 adresinden alındı
10. Gyngelt, A. (1982). Looking Outwards: ASEAN's External Relations. A. Broinowski içinde, Understanding ASEAN (s. 129). London, UK: Macmillan Press LTD.
11. Indorf, H. H. (1975). ASEAN: Problems and Prospects. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Publication.
12. Khoo, N. (2011). Collateral Damage: Sino-Soviet Rivalry and the Termination of the Sino-Vietnamese Alliance. New York, USA: Columbia University Press .
13. Kochavi, N. (2002). Limited Accommodation, Perpetuated Conflict: Kennedy, China, and the Laos Crisis, 1961–1963. Diplomatic History, Volume 26, Issue 1 , 95-135.
14. Leifer, M. (1995 ). Dictionary of the Modern Politics of South-East Asia. London, UK: Routledge.
15. Lim, R. (1982). East-West and North-South. A. Broinowski içinde, Understanding ASEAN (s. 238-254). Lonndon, UK: Macmillan .
16. Mackerras, C. (2001). The New Cambridge Handbook of Contemporary China. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
17. Mehdi, S. S. (1974). The New Pakistan and The Asian-Pacific Region. Pakistan Horizon, Vol. 27, No. 4, 21-56.
18. Milner, A. (2014). Afterword: ASEAN in Our National Imagination. S. P. Wood, & B. He içinde, The Australia-ASEAN dialogue : tracing 40 years of partnership (s. 225-234). New York, USA: Palgrave and Macmillan .
19. Naik, J. A. (1945). Dissolving Alliances. Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 10, No. 37, 1459-1460.
20. Nairn, R. C. (1968). SEATO: A Critique. Pacific Affairs, Vol. 41, No. 1 , 5-18.
21. Nuechterlein, D. E. (1964). Thailand and Seato: A Ten-Year Appraisal. Asian Survey, Vol. 4, No. 12, 1174-1181.
22. Paul, E. (2010). Obstacles to Democratization in Southeast Asia - A Study of the Nation State, Regional and Global Order. Hampshire, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
23. SEATO. (1964). SEATO: 1954-1964. Bangkok: South-East Asia Treaty Organization. Mart 18, 2019 tarihinde https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.weaties/seato0001&div=1&src=home adresinden alındı
24. Sharan, R. H. (1965). S.E.A.T.O. — A Regional Defence Plan. The Indian Journal of Political Science, Vol. 26, No. 4,, 247-254.
25. Stockwell, T. (2005). Forging Malaysia and Singapore: Colonialism, Decolonization and Nation-Building. W. Gungwu içinde, Nation-Building: Five Southeast Asian Histories (s. 191-220). Singapore: ISEAS Publications Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
26. Taylor, R. H. (2007). British Policy towards Myanmar and the Creation of the ‘Burma Problem’ . N. Ganesan, & K. Y. Hlaing içinde, MYANMAR State, Society and Ethnicity (s. 70-95). Singapore: ISEAS Publishing Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
27. Wood, S. P. (2014). Australia and ASEAN: A Marriage of Convenience. S. P. Wood, & B. He içinde, The Australia-ASEAN dialogue : Tracing 40 Years of Partnership (s. 13-32). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.
28. Wood, S. P., & He, B. (2014). Introduction. S. P. Wood, & B. He içinde, The Australia-ASEAN Dialogue Tracing 40 Years of Partnership (s. 1-12). New York, USA: Palgrave Macmillan.