Foreign Policy in the Nixon Presidency Essay Example for Free

Foreign Policy in the Nixon administration EssayRichard Nixon is one of the about controversial figures in American history. His presidency is remembered most for the Watergate scandal and his subsequent re mansio commonwealth hardly just about of his foreign policies forever altered American foreign diplomacy. One of the major policies that President Nixon was responsible for was ever-changing the nature of the get together States dealingship with mainland mainland china. He did this by representting into motion covert diplomatic actions and pagan exchanges between the two countries. Nixons apprehensions for up(a) relationships with the Communist regime was to force the Soviet northern to be more accommodating to American demands and to also servicing prohibit the fight in Vietnam. Another reason for improving relations was very personal for Richard Nixon. He wanted to show his power as an worldwide statesman to the world and American human beings. American/Chi nese relations for many years were fri give uply and manifold the trade of goods and ideas. American missionaries had gone to chinaware to build churches and hospitals. The two countries were associate against the Japanese during World fight II. After the war ended the coupled States was not an ally of mainland China as a on the whole but one political throng, the Kuomintang.The Kuomintang, led by Chang Kai Shek, were in battled in a civil war with the Chinese communists who would yettually win out. Chang Kai Shek would take his government to the island of Taiwan. After the civil war, the unite States only recognised Changs country of China and kept the Peoples Republic of China, led by monoamine oxidase Ze-Dong, out of the United Nations and other international bodies. This led to an isolation of China by a absolute 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 confederation had quickly deteriorated. Both China and the Soviet Union were communist countries but their ideologies were very different. Their relationship slowly became strained and both countries started to build up military man along their common mold through the 1960s.After the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia and released the Brezhnev teaching, which stated that the Kremlin had the right to even 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 do 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 was elected president, Nixon had expressed delight in opening up relations with China despite his previous negative views of communism.In 1967 he wrote an article for Foreign Affairs magazine where he stated We simply 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 displace on this small planet for a billion of its potentially most able raft to live in angry isolation. After his election as President Richard Nixon decided to retain China one of the primary(a) focuses of his foreign insurance form _or_ system of government. One of his primary reasons for doing this was to gain an upper chip in in the now 20-year-old insentient warfare with the Soviet Union. The Soviets had taken over several Eastern European countries and turned them into communist states in a n look for to show the world the successes of Communism. Also by the late 1960s the United States was no longer cocksure that it could win a war with the Soviet Union since they had had the two decades since the Second World War to be cured _or_ healed it military strength. This required the United States to have to change strategies in dealing with the Soviet Union. They now had to raise up 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 come across the group was hardened as though they were dignitaries or royalty. They played matches against the Chinese team but also pictureed important landmarks through out China. The American delegation was accompanied by me mbers of the press and was closely watched by the American public. At a banquet for the visiting Americans, Chou En-Lai, the Chinese Premier told the group, Exchanges between our two countries have been hop-skip off for a long time but now, with your acceptance of our invitation, you have opened a newfound page in the relations of the Chinese and American people. While the American ping-pong players were the talk of the media, tail end the scenes Nixon was putting into action his plan to improve relations with China.He did this by employing his National Security Advisor, enthalpy Kissinger, to make covert communications with the Chinese government. Before the Ping-Pong players had ever set foot in China and at the ascendent of his presidency Nixon had Kissinger prepare a study on the feasibility of improving American/Chinese relations. Originally Kissinger was hesitant about the idea of negotiation with China even beingness quoted as saying this crazy guy really does want to no rmalize relations with China. But even Kissinger knew that an alliance between the United States and China could shift the global political powers more in elevate of the United States and away 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 dormant the issue that the United States does not officially recognize the Peoples Republic of China as a countenance government. To ease some of Chinas concerns, Nixon instructs his administration 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 fo r consecutive discussions with Communist China while maintaining our falsification commitment to Taiwan. When the Government of the Peoples Republic of China is ready to engage in talks, it will find us receptive 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 much 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 do this covert excursion by faking illness on a diplomatic visit to Pakistan and flying to China to convey Nixons intention to Premier cream puff 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 calendar week would become kn birth as the week that changed the world. President Nixon would o nly 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 recognition 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 thrash 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 bargain 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 address systems. With his relative success in negotiating deals with both China and the Soviet Union, Richard Nixon was hopeful that he would have the anal ogous success in negotiating a deal with North 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 billions 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 accordance agreements. Secondly, the United States would provide a shield if a nuclear power threatened 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 th eir 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 United States involvement in Vietnam. However this did not stop the spread of communism to south Vietnam. Nixons better relations with China were largely unsuccessful in there being a positive resolvent 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 Staff Bob Haldeman.While Nixon was meeting broadly with Chinese Premier Zhou and negotiating agreements, Haldeman and Nixons wife Pat toured factories and sc hools 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 images flowed O.K. to the United States, targeted for prime-time evening 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 depiction in the media. He tasked members of his staff with combating any negative comments said about him and manage any watchword about him. He bordered on obsessive when it came to public image.His first week in tycoon he formed a task called the Five Oclock group that was responsible for monitor 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 his subsequent visit. During his time in China he made sure the entire trip was exceedingly 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 advanced 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 earshot 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 President 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 tenacious 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 c ommunity about Richard Nixons visit to China it was still one of the most epoch-making moments in United States foreign policy during the Cold War.Henry Kissinger wrote in his memoir On China, The come back for Sino-American rapprochement would not be a state of perpetual friendship or a unanimity of values, but a rebalancing of the global equilibrium. Richard Nixon helped to accomplish this by improving relations with China in an confinement to change the American relationship with the Soviet Union and end the Vietnam War. While his intentions were for both personal and overlord 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 relinquish from office. He became known as politician that would use any means necessary to accomplish his goals but this also led to his downfall.BIBLIOGRAPHYBu ndy, 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. ending 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. 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 historic journey to China. Lanham, Md. Madison Books , 1992.