Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency Essay

Richard Nixon is one of the most controversial figures in American history. His presidency is remembered most for the Watergate scandal and his incidental re targetation besides some of his foreign policies for ever so altered American foreign diplomacy. One of the major policies that professorship Nixon was responsible for was changing the nature of the unify States dealingship with chinaware. He did this by setting into motion covert diplomatic bodily functions and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Nixons reasons for improving relationships with the Communist regime was to powerfulness the Soviet Union to be more accommodating to American demands and to also help end the war in Vietnam. An separate reason for improving relations was very personal for Richard Nixon. He wanted to show his power as an international statesman to the world and American public. American/Chinese relations for numerous years were friendly and involved the trade of goods and ideas. Am erican missionaries had gone to chinaware to build churches and hospitals. The two countries were consort against the Japanese during World War II. After the war ended the unify States was not an ally of China as a whole precisely one political meeting, the Kuomintang.The Kuomintang, led by Chang Kai Shek, were in battled in a civil war with the Chinese communists who would up to nowtually win out. Chang Kai Shek would take his organization to the island of Taiwan. After the civil war, the coupled States only recognized Changs majority rule of China and kept the Peoples Republic of China, led by Mao Ze-Dong, out of the linked Nations and other international bodies. This led to an isolation of China by a majority of the international community. The only diplomatic relations the United States had with China were through intermediary countries. While relations with the United States were sour, the Chinese relationship with the Soviet Union had quickly deteriorated. Both China and the Soviet Union were communist countries but their ideologies were very different. Their relationship slowly became strained and some(prenominal) countries started to build up soldiery along their common border through the 1960s.After the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia and released the Brezhnev Doctrine, which stated that the Kremlin had the right to correct deviationism in other communist countries by military intervention, the Chinese no longer considered the Soviet Union as an ally. This led to violent border clashes between the two countries in March 1969. By the end of 1969 the Soviet Union had over a million troops stationed along the Soviet/Chinese border and missiles aimed at major Chinese cities. The year before, a former republican vice-president from California, Richard Nixon, was elected president. He had dedicate a name for him self in Congress as a leading anti-communist and he went on to serve as vice-president under Dwight D Eisenhower. Even before he w as elected president, Nixon had expressed interest in initiation up relations with China despite his previous negative views of communism.In 1967 he wrote an article for orthogonal Affairs magazine where he stated We obviously cannot afford to leave China forever outside the family of nations, there to nurture its fantasies, cherish its hates and threaten its neighbors. There is no ordain on this small artificial satellite for a billion of its potentially most able people to live in angry isolation. After his election as President Richard Nixon decided to view as China one of the primary focuses of his foreign policy. One of his primary reasons for doing this was to gain an upper mass in the now 20-year-old Cold War with the Soviet Union. The Soviets had interpreted over several Eastern European countries and turned them into communist states in an attempt to show the world the successes of Communism. Also by the late 1960s the United States was no longer confident that it c ould win a war with the Soviet Union since they had had the two decades since the Second World War to regain it military strength. This inevitable the United States to create to change strategies in dealing with the Soviet Union. They now had to shift their focus to gaining China as an ally.The State Department in the summer of 1969 began to announce various unilateral gestures of reconciliation. Many restrictions on travel and trade were lifted. This would become know as Ping Pong diplomacy. It was so named after the United States ping-pong team was invited to the Chinese capital in April of 1971. During their check the group was treated as though they were dignitaries or royalty. They played matches against the Chinese team but also visited important landmarks through out China. The American delegation was accompanied by members of the press and was tight watched by the American public. At a fete for the visiting Americans, Chou En-Lai, the Chinese Premier told the group, Ex changes between our two countries have been cut off for a long time but now, with your acceptance of our invitation, you have opened a new page in the relations of the Chinese and American people. While the American ping-pong players were the talk of the media, behind the scenes Nixon was putting into action his plan to improve relations with China.He did this by employing his National Security Advisor, Henry Kissinger, to make covert communications with the Chinese government. Before the Ping-Pong players had ever set foot in China and at the solution of his presidency Nixon had Kissinger prepare a study on the feasibility of improving American/Chinese relations. Originally Kissinger was hesitant virtually the idea of talks with China even being quoted as saying this crazy guy really does want to anneal relations with China. But even Kissinger knew that an alliance between the United States and China could shift the global political powers more in favor of the United States and onward from communism and the Soviet Union. One of the biggest roadblocks to improving relations with China was the issue of Taiwan. Since the Chinese civil war ended the United States had only recognized the government of the Republic of China on the island of Taiwan.So even as Nixon is trying to improve relations with communist China there is still the issue that the United States does not officially recognize the Peoples Republic of China as a ordered government. To ease some of Chinas concerns, Nixon instructs his politics to terminate navel patrols in the Straight of Taiwan. Also in a radio address that Nixon gave on February 25, 1971 regarding his congressional foreign policy report he reiterated both his intention to protect Taiwan but open up talks with China. We will search for consecutive discussions with Communist China while maintaining our excuse commitment to Taiwan. When the Government of the Peoples Republic of China is ready to engage in talks, it will find us r eceptive to agreements that further the legitimate national interests of China and its neighbors.A visit to China was next on Nixons foreign policy agenda. He announced his intentions in 1970, taking more of the world by surprise especially the Soviet Union. He negotiated this visit first by secretly sending Henry Kissinger to Beijing in July of 1971. Kissinger made this covert trip by faking illness on a diplomatic visit to Pakistan and flying to China to convey Nixons intention to Premier cabbage En-Lai. It was decided that President Nixon would visit the following year. On February 21, 1972, Richard Nixon became the first United States President to visit China.The following impartweek would become known as the week that changed the world. President Nixon would only meet with an ailing Mao Ze-dong one time during his visit but it would set in motion events that would lead to United States course credit of Maos government and an end to the Cold War. The visit ended with both countries issuing the Shanghai Communiqu. In this document both countries pledged to work towards normalization of relations. The United States also agreed to remove military forces from Taiwan. Shortly after the delegations return from their visit to China, Richard Nixon tasked Henry Kissinger with negotiating arms treaties with the Soviet Union. With the well-publicized visit closely watched by the Soviets the United States now had more bargaining power. In 1972, Kissinger negotiated the Strategic Arms Limitations Talks. The two Cold-War super powers agreed that they would begin limiting missiles, nuclear arms, and rake systems. With his relative success in negotiating deals with both China and the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon was hopeful that he would have the same success in negotiating a deal with wedlock Vietnam to end the Vietnam War.Going into his re-election campaign in 1972 the United States had been at war in Vietnam for 12 years, over 50,000 had been killed, and billion s of dollars had been spent. His first major policy regarding Vietnam that Nixon put into place was the Nixon Doctrine. The Doctrine had three major tenants. First, the United States would honor all of its pact agreements. Secondly, the United States would provide a shield if a nuclear power be an ally or a country the United States deemed to be vital to its national security. And, lastly, the United States would provide military and economic aid to countries under treaty agreements, but the requesting nation would be expected to bear primary responsibility to provide the manpower for its own defense. The Nixon Doctrine led to the withdrawal of ground troops from Vietnam and training the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) in defense of their own country.Nixon had also hoped that his new treaties with China would help to isolate the North Vietnamese and convince them to sign a peace treaty. In 1973, a cease-fire was negotiated at the Paris Peace Accords and ended Unite d States involvement in Vietnam. However this did not burst the spread of communism to south Vietnam. Nixons improved relations with China were largely unsuccessful in there being a positive endurance of the Vietnam War. While the entire episode of the Vietnam War was seen as a blemish on Richard Nixons Presidency he was still very concerned about his image not only among the American public but on the world stage as well. He wanted to use his visit to China to draw attention to his expertise as a global statesman. Among the people that accompanied Nixon on his trip to China was White House Chief of ply Bob Haldeman.While Nixon was meeting mostly with Chinese Premier chow chow and negotiating agreements, Haldeman and Nixons wife Pat toured factories and schools throughout China. Mrs. Nixon was followed by a large group of press. Bob Haldeman was in charge of making their visit look very positive to the American public. Margaret MacMillan writes in her book Nixon in China, The im ages flowed top to the United States, targeted for prime-time change surface television. It was a presidential election year at home and Haldeman wanted to make sure that Nixon shone out as the great leader and statesman. From the very beginning of his Presidency Richard Nixon always wanted to be seen in a positive light especially his portrayal in the media. He tasked members of his staff with combating any negative comments said about him and manage any news about him. He bordered on obsessive when it came to public image.His first week in contribution he formed a task called the Five Oclock group that was responsible for monitoring television programs for any negative comments about the President or his administration and defending them. With the Vietnam War and the protests to the end the war at the top of most news stories, Nixon needed to do something to get his name back in the limelight. Many believe that this a major factor for his motivation to reach out to China and hi s subsequent visit. During his time in China he made sure the entire trip was highly publicized. He did numerous photo opportunities at such places like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. The receipt his visit received by the American public was very positive. This was their first view into the isolated nation in over 20 years. This view, however, was a carefully scripted play put on by the Chinese government. This was their attempt to show a New China, not one that was still suffering from the isolationist policies of the Cultural Revolution.The Chinese officials responsible for showing China in a positive way had people picnicking outside of factories in the bitter cold earreach to revolutionary music and then collected the radios they were listening to after the delegation left. These inconsistencies were noticed by a Canadian member of the press to which Premier Zhou had to quietly admit that this was wrong of them to do. But the idea of a New China would only help Presid ent Nixon portray to the world that America and China, even with such opposite political views, could come to an understanding. His visit took the entire worlds view off of Vietnam and on to him personally while he visited China. Kissinger had pled with President Nixon to not make his trip to China a media circus because of the impact it would have internationally with Americas allies and enemies.International reaction to the visit was mixed. The United States allies were mostly disappointed that they had been kept in the dark about the new relations. The British felt particularly offended that they were not informed before hand about the dealings going on between the Americans and the Chinese. Even with the somewhat cool reception in the international community about Richard Nixons visit to China it was still one of the most significant moments in United States foreign policy during the Cold War.Henry Kissinger wrote in his memoir On China, The reward for Sino-American rapprochem ent would not be a state of perpetual friendship or a harmony of values, but a rebalancing of the global equilibrium. Richard Nixon helped to accomplish this by improving relations with China in an effort to change the American relationship with the Soviet Union and end the Vietnam War. While his intentions were for both personal and pro gain, either way his foreign policies remain at the top of his successes as President. Nixons presidency is mostly remembered of one wrought with corruption and following the Watergate scandal, he is still the only United States President to resign from office. He became known as politician that would use any means necessary to accomplish his goals but this also led to his downfall.BIBLIOGRAPHYBundy, William. A Tangled Web The making of Foreign Policy in the NixonPresidency. New York, 1989.Chang, Gordon H.. Friends and enemies the United States, China, and the Soviet Union, 1948-1972. Stanford, Calif. Stanford University Press, 1990.Devoss, David A . Ping-Pong Diplomacy. Smithsonian . 33. no. 1 2002Keilers, John G. U.S. Army Military History Institute, Nixon Doctrine and Vietnamization. Last modified 2007. Accessed November 14, 2012. http//www.army.mil/article/3867/Nixon_Doctrine_and_Vietnamization/.Kissinger, Henry On China. New York Penguin Press, 2011. Print.MacMillan, Margaret. Nixon in China the week that changed the world. Toronto Viking Canada, 2006.Nixon, Richard. moth miller Center, Radio Address About Second Annual Foreign Policy Report to the Congress . Last modified 1971. Accessed November 14, 2012. http//millercenter.org/president/speeches/detail/3875.Nixon, Richard M. Asia After Viet Nam. Foreign Affairs, October 1967. http//www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/23927/richard-m-nixon/asia-after-viet-nam (accessed October 18, 2012)Small, Melvin. The presidency of Richard Nixon. Lawrence University Press of Kansas, 1999.Walker, Anne Collins, John Eastman, and Elizabeth C Eastman. China calls paving the way for Nixons hi storic journey to China. Lanham, Md. Madison Books , 1992.