The Birth of Regional Arrangements and the Intersec- tion of Mutual Recognition: Connection-Comparison between the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty (1951) and the ROK-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty (1953)

Abstract

This study examined the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan, which was born in 1951, and the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, which was born in 1953, from the viewpoint of connection-comparison. First, in the background of the two treaties was the emphasis laid on the United Nations Charter, which advocated internationalism. Second, there was a difference in the concept of defense between the two treaties. The Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan was conscious of international communism, but placed more weight on securing the autonomy of US forces in Japan than on defense of Japan. On the other hand, the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, which declared joint defense and mutual aid, had a device to block international communism, Japanese right-wing totalitarianism, and South Korea's reunification of the North but there was a crack where the function of the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan, which was concluded earlier, was added. Third, before signing the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan, Shigeru Yoshida envisioned a regional security that would prohibit South Korea from possessing military power at the same level as Japan, which cannot have military power due to the Peace Constitution. To him, Korea was a buffer zone. Meanwhile, Syngman Rhee's multilateral regional security initiative also foundered, but his hope for a stronger treaty than the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan was relatively fulfilled. However, even after the birth of the Mutual Defense Treaty Between the Republic of Korea and the United States of America, Syngman Rhee viewed Japan as a threatening country, and Yoshida viewed the power of the Security Treaty Between the United States and Japan as useful against Korea as well.