Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty

Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty was a treaty between the United States of America and the Republic of China; it was signed on December 2, 1954 and came into force on March 3, 1955. [ [http://usinfo.org/sino/dtreaty_e.htm CHINA ] ]

Article 10 of the treaty provided that either Party could terminate it one year after notice had been given to the other Party.

According to the provision of Article 10, this treaty was terminated on Jan. 1, 1980, one year after the United States established diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China on January 1, 1979. The right for President Jimmy Carter to unilaterally annul a treaty, in this case the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, was the topic of the Supreme Court case "Goldwater v. Carter" in which the court declined to rule on the legality of this action, given the political nature rather than judicial nature of the case, thereby allowing it to proceed. Shortly after the United States' recognition of the People's Republic, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act. [ [http://www.ait.org.tw/en/about_ait/tra/ About AIT - Taiwan Relations Act ] ] .

Treaty obligations and impact

This treaty consists of ten main articles. The content of the treaty includes the provision that if one country came under attack, the other would aid and provide military support.

In the context of Cold War and the confrontation between Capitalism and Communism worldwide, this treaty secured the Republic of China from invasion by the People's Republic of China in the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War on mainland China, from 1949 until its termination.

This treaty was limited in application to the defense of Taiwan and Pescadores only. Kinmen and Matsu were not protected by this treaty. Therefore, the US stood aside during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.

This treaty also prevented Republic of China from initiating any military action against mainland China, since only Taiwan and Pescadores are included and unilateral military actions were not supported.

This treaty is acting between US and ROC.

From the viewpoint of US Senate, in conjunction with the ratification of the MDT, a report issued Feb. 8, 1955 by the US Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations specified: "It is the view of the committee that the coming into force of the present treaty will not modify or affect the existing legal status of Formosa and the Pescadores."

To avoid any possibility of misunderstanding on this aspect of the treaty, the committee decided it would be useful to include in this report the following statement: "It is the understanding of the Senate that nothing in the treaty shall be construed as affecting or modifying the legal status or sovereignty of the territories to which it applies." Reference: Appendix 17 -- Report on Mutual Defense Treaty with the Republic of China, U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations (1955) [ [http://www.cns.miis.edu/straittalk/Appendix%2017.htm Appendix 17 ] ]

Historical significance

Diplomatically, this treaty prolonged and assisted Republic of China in maintaining legitimacy as the sole government of the whole of China until early 1970s.

During the Cold War, this treaty also helped US policy makers to shape the Policy of Containment in East Asia together with South Korea and Japan against the spread of Communism.

ee Also

*Battle of Kuningtou
*Political Status of Taiwan

References