The Origins And U.S. Countermeasures Of The Issue Of Remnants Of Kuomintang In Northern Myanmar (1949-1954)

This paper mainly uses the primary archives of the National Archives II of the United States,the National Archives of Myanmar,the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China,“the National History Museum” of Taiwan,and the National Archives of Thailand,as well as various publicly-published documents,aiming to explicate the origin of the problem of Residual Troops of Kuomintang(hereinafter as KMT).It reveals the basic considerations of the U.S.government in dealing with this issue,the differences and coordination of the U.S.bureaucratic system,the evolution and motivation of the U.S.policy,and the implementation process and influence of the U.S.policy.The first chapter discusses the origins of the problem of the remnants of the KMT in the north of Myanmar and the initial policy and response of the United States.In the early years of independence,the civil war between the Burmese government and the anti-government rebel forces of the Communist Party of Myanmar and the void border defense provided an opportunity for the foreign forces.With the Luhan Uprising in 1949 and the defeat of the KMT forces in Southern Yunnan,the runaway of the KMT troops to Myanmar directly brought about its military problem there.Due to the anti-communist consideration and the acceptance of the mediation request of U Nu government,the Truman administration forced the Taipei government to order the KMT remnants in Myanmar to disarm and surrender.In particular,after Yangon’s threat to appeal to the United Nations,Washington stepped up its application to Taipei,which eventually contributed to the relocation from Tachilek to Mong Hsat of the KMT remnants in late August,1950.The second chapter mainly talks about the process of the US government’s policy change on the remnants of the KMT in the context of the Korean War,that is,the creation and abandonment of the “Paper Operation”.After the outbreak of the Korean War,the U.S.government adjusted its policies towards the KMT’s remnants.On one hand,for the purpose of containing the Chinese Communists battlefield forces in Korean,President Truman approved the “Paper Operation” put forward by the Policy Coordination Office under the CIA and secretly supported the KMT remnants to counterattack.On the other hand,the “Unclear Truth” State Department continued its previous opposition to the KMT remnants and continued to mediate between Yangon and Taipei,especially to prevent the Myanmar government from submitting the remnants of the KMT to the United Nations.The U.S.government’s “paradoxical policies” often put the US Embassy in Yangon in an embarrassing position.The failure of the remnants of the KMT to counterattacks in Yunnan and the pressure of Myanmar’s appeal to the United Nations,especially the changes on the Korean battlefield,led President Truman to gradually instruct the CIA to stop assistance to the KMT’s remnants,and the “Paper Operation” was eventually abandoned.The third chapter mainly discusses the U.S.policy towards the remnants of the Kuomintang before and after the “Burmese Accused Case” in early 1953.In the late administration of Truman,the United States began to adjust the policy to KMT’s remnants.After President Eisenhower came to power,he formed a new policy of repatriating the remnants of the KMT to Taiwan to resolve the issue once and for all.However,despite the repeated concessions of the U.S.government,Taipei’s policy advocacy for Washington has not been open to the principled consent.As a result,the U.S.failed to dissuade the U Nu’s Government from appealing to the United Nations.Myanmar eventually submitted the KMT remnants issue to the United Nations,so the "Burmese Accused Case" occurred.Subsequently,the United States on the one hand prompted the Taiwan authorities to make commitments in principle to withdraw their troops from Myanmar,on the other hand,they successively pushed the U Nu government to withdraw its appeal and delay the discussion on the “Burmese Accused Case”.However,the US efforts were unsuccessful for various reasons,and under the US promotion,the United Nations General Assembly passed the Myanmar resolution on the issue of the remnants of the KMT on April 23.The fourth chapter mainly discusses the establishment of the “Joint Committee”,and the US efforts to promote the first withdrawal of the remnants of the KMT by means of internal and external efforts in the “Joint Committee”.In accordance with the spirit of the UN resolution on Myanmar,the United States proposed the establishment of a “Joint Committee” in the framework of the United Nations to withdraw the remnants of the KMT from Myanmar.Later,Palmer,the U.S.representative and chairman of the meeting,the U.S.ambassador to Bangkok,etc.inside the Joint Committee,as well as the Secretary of State,the President,and others outside the Joint Committee,made concerted efforts to coordinate the positions of all parties and promoted the progress of the negotiations,which eventually contributed to the signing of the withdrawal agreement and to Myanmar’s agreement to participate in the withdrawal process.During the three-phase evacuation of the remnants of the KMT in the implementation of the withdrawal agreement,through the extension of the cease-fire period,the delivery of weapons and the resolution of the prisoners and refugees,the United States helped to bring back nearly 7,000 KMT soldiers and their dependents to Taiwan.In the conclusion,it is a summary and analysis about the causes of the trouble with regard to the remnants of the KMT locating in the North Myanmar and the influence of American to the remnants of the KMT locating in the North Myanmar between 1950 and 1954.Specifically speaking is that how the cold war in East Asia and the US policy to the East Asia and the Southeast Asia influenced the evolution of US policies to the remnants of the KMT;how the US policy to the remnants of the KMT responded to the policy of containment to China;what the influence were the US policy about the remnants of the KMT to the relations between Myanmar and the United States,the relations between the United States and Taiwan,the relations between the United States and the United Kingdom,the relations between the United States and Thailand,and the Peripheral Diplomacy of Myanmar especially the relationship between Myanmar and China.