The Korean War, the Fall of Indochina, and the Birth of SEATO: Cold War in the Far East

While tensions between the Eastern and Western blocs were shaping Europe, the ripple effects of the Cold War were reaching the Far East as well. Two things deeply concerned both the Soviet Union and China, who were highly influential in the region: the presence of the United States in South Korea, and the continued presence of France in Southeast Asia, in Indochina with active American support. For these reasons, the two defining conflicts in the Far East between 1950 and 1954 were the Korean War and the Indochina War.

Korean War (1950-1953)

Our story actually begins with a dangerous signature placed during the final days of World War II, at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. When Soviet Russia decided to enter the war in the Far East, to facilitate military operations, the territory of Korea was divided in two right along the 38th parallel, as if drawn with a ruler on a map. The north of this invisible line was recognized as the Soviet military operations zone, while the south was designated for the US.

However, when the war ended, that temporary border turned into a permanent wall. Neither US-Soviet negotiations nor the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations were sufficient to reunite these two regions. As the polarization became definitive, the US organized elections in its controlled south on May 10, 1948, leading to the establishment of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) under the presidency of Syngman Rhee. In response, the Soviets wasted no time in holding elections tailored to their own system in North Korea, establishing the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on September 9, 1948.

The real explosion occurred when the giant of Asia, China, fell under communist rule in 1949. Seizing this massive shift in power, and backed by the Soviets and China, North Korea unexpectedly declared war and crossed the border into South Korea on June 25, 1950, with the aim of completely expelling the US from Asia.

As events reached this breaking point, the UN Security Council convened urgently and took a historic decision: there would be a military intervention in South Korea. An international UN Force, comprising troops from various nations but primarily shouldered and commanded by the US (under General Douglas MacArthur), was formed and deployed to Korea.

Where Turkey Earned Its NATO Ticket: The Epic of Korea

This is exactly where the significance of this war begins for our history. To prove its loyalty to the Western Bloc and secure entry under the NATO umbrella against the Soviet threat, Turkey dispatched a fully equipped military brigade to Korea to serve under this UN Force. This decision marks the very first time in the history of the Turkish Republic that troops were sent abroad, let alone to the other side of the world. The legendary heroism displayed by the Turkish brigade in the Korean mountains resonated tremendously throughout the Western world, throwing the doors of NATO wide open in 1952 for Turkey, whose application had previously been rejected.

This bloody war, which began in 1950 and caused the deaths of millions of civilians and soldiers, ended after three years with neither side able to achieve decisive superiority over the other. With the Panmunjom Armistice signed in July 1953, the guns fell silent, and the border was re-established exactly where the war had started: the 38th parallel. In other words, all that blood failed to shift the borders even a millimeter.

General Walton Walker, Commander of the United Nations Forces, presenting the ‘Silver Star’ medal to Brigadier General Tahsin Yazıcı, Commander of the Turkish Brigade

The Collapse of Colonialism and the Indochina War (1954)

While the waters were calming in Korea, a brand-new storm was brewing in another corner of Asia: Indochina. Emerging from the devastation of World War II, France stubbornly attempted to maintain its colonial rule in this region, which encompassed Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos hoping to return to its former days of glory. However, Asia had awakened; France’s colonial persistence triggered total wars of independence among the regional populations.

France’s inability to crush this resistance and its subsequent entrapment in a quagmire elevated the issue from a local rebellion to a massive Cold War crisis between the Eastern and Western blocs by 1954. As events spiralled out of control, heavyweights such as the US, France, Britain, the USSR, and the People's Republic of China were forced to convene a historic peace conference in Geneva in 1954.

The outcomes of the Geneva Conference were an absolute earthquake in the history of colonialism: suffering a severe defeat, France was forced to withdraw completely from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and these nations gained their independence. However, the most critical clause of the agreement, and the one that would most significantly impact the future, concerned Vietnam: Just like in Korea, Vietnam was partitioned into two, a (Communist) North and a (pro-Western) South, with the 17th Parallel designated as the border. This division would very soon pave the way to one of the greatest traumas in American history: the Hell of Vietnam.

Indochine physique, 1930

The Establishment of SEATO (Manila Pact) (September 8, 1954)

The crisis in Vietnam, which escalated after the Korean War, pushed the US to reinforce its defence measures in Asia with much firmer and more forceful steps. This war laid bare the danger facing Southeast Asia; the strategic importance of the region had become undeniable. Why was it so significant? If this region were to fall under communist control, Soviet Russia and China could gain dominance over global trade chokepoints like Singapore and the Strait of Malacca, which would create a nightmare scenario for the defence of the Pacific Ocean.

The US Two-Step Strategy

To protect this massive region, the US activated a two-phase plan:

The first step: Directly increasing military and economic aid to countries that had recently gained full independence, such as Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and South Vietnam.

The second step: Establishing a collective defence system to shield the region.

SEATO (Manila Pact) and the Ring of Alliances

The tangible result of the second step was the SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization), or the Manila Pact, signed on September 8, 1954. This collective defence organization was founded with the participation of global powers like the US, UK, and France, alongside Far Eastern nations: New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Pakistan. In doing so, the US created a massive "ring of alliances" surrounding Soviet Russia and its ally, China.

The US did not limit its containment strategy to this alone. To balance the scales in Asia against Communist China, it signed an alliance treaty with the Nationalist Chinese (Formosa/Taiwan) Government on December 2, 1955. Like the SEATO treaty, this alliance had no expiration date; America was determined to transform its borders in Asia into permanent military strongholds.