Evening star., 1950-06-13
Security and q japanese Treaty

On their current flying visit to Tokyo Defense
Secretary johnson and Chairman Bradley of our
Joint Chiefs of Staff undoubtedly will have a
thorough going discussion with General Mac
Arthur regarding the difficult security problem
involved in the recently revived suggestion that
the United States and other non-Soviet members
of the Far Eastern Commission should work out
separate peace treaty with japan.
Such pact-which the pro-American Jap
anese government apparently is anxious to have
lis favored in principle at least, not merely by
General Macarthur but also by the Defense
Department and the State Department, together
with number of the free countries belonging
to the eleven-nation FEC. AS far as the United
States is concerned, however, there are inter-
departmental differences over the question of
how to safeguard Japan from aggression and
protect our own vital strategic interests when
and If treaty is put into effect and our occu-
patton forces are withdrawn.
One of the factors complicating the problem
is the new postwar constitution of the Japanese
Under it, in way that makes them unique in
the history of the world, they have renounced
for all time the right to maintain an army navy
or air force Of their own In other words, with
an idealism that seems far removed from the
harsh realities of our dangerous era, they have
made it part of their basic law to he defenseless
against external aggression.
Nevertheless, rejecting widespread public
desire for return to full sovereignty, the Jap
anese government has indicated that 1t is eager
for separate peace treaty. At the same time
being aware of how vulnerable the country would
be after the withdrawal of our forces it is said
to be ready to offer permanent bases to the
United States. Accordingly, the question likely
to figure largely in the Johnson Bradley Mac
Arthur talks, and in related interdepartmental
talks here in Washington, is whether an arrange
ment of that kind would be sound in the atomic
age or whether some other formula-perhaps
including an unequivocal commitment by us and
hke-minded nations to rush to Japan's aid in
case of attack-might not be better or more
realistic way of promoting the free worlds Sc
curity.
OF course, this question exists only because
of the nature of Soviet policy If Russia would
join with the other members of the Far Eastern
Commission in negotiating decent peace treaty
insuring japanese independence, there would be
no security problem to worry about But ever
since the bogged-down FEC first came into being.
the men of the Kremlin have made clear-just
as they have in the case of Austria and Germany
that the only kind of settlement they will agree
to is settlement that will enable them sooner
or later to make a satellite of Japan.
That being the case, separate japanese
treaty, though highly desirable in many respects,
can hardly be accepted unless it contains pro-
visions effectively guaranteeing Japan's long
term safety and the free worlds position-par-
ticularly our American position-in the Far
Pacific. To work out such guarantee, with or
without bases, obviously will call for a great
deal OF wisdom from all parties concerned