Acheson Line (1950)

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Excerpts from Dean Acheson's speech to the National Press Club: 

"... there is no intention of any sort of abandoning or weakening the defenses of Japan, and that whatever arrangements are to be made, either through permanent settlement or otherwise, that defense must and shall be maintained.

This defensive perimeter runs along the Aleutians to Japan and then goes to the Ryukyus. We hold important defense positions in the Ryukyu Islands, and those we will continue to hold. In the interest of the population of the Ryukyu Islands, we will at an appropriate time offer to hold these islands under trusteeship of the United Nations. But they are essential parts of the defensive perimeter of the Pacific, and they must and will be held.

The defensive perimeter runs from Ryukyus to the Philippine Islands. Our relations, our defensive relations with the Philippines are contained in agreements between us. Those agreements are being loyally carried out and will be loyally carried out. Both peoples have learned by bitter experience the vital connections between our mutual defense requirements.

So far as the military security of other areas in the Pacific is concerned, it must be clear that no person can guarantee these areas against military attack. But it must also be clear that such a guarantee is hardly sensible or necessary within the realm of practical relationship."

"... other problems are not capable of solution through military means. These other problems arise out of the susceptibility of many areas, and many countries in the Pacific area, to subversion and penetration. That cannot be stopped by military means...."

Dean Acheson's Press Club Speech Reexamined UNB

Remember the Acheson Line K JA D

"Although there is no credible evidence that Acheson’s line helped lead to the 1950-53 Korean War by stimulating communists like Kim Il Sung, it remains a controversial concept. Two years before the announcement, the Soviet Union pulled out its forces from North Korea followed by the United States’ withdrawal of its forces from South Korea in June 1949. As a result, Acheson’s announcement of the line could have offered a precious opportunity for communists in the area to expand their influence."

...

"Washington signed a treaty with Seoul on mutual defense and aid on Jan. 26, 1950. The treaty was more advanced than the Acheson Line in terms of a pledge to protect South Korea from outside attacks. On Feb. 10, the U.S. Congress also passed a bill to aid South Korea."