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Lets not forget they straight up supported Mao against the nationalist and American friendly Chiang Kai-Shek.

by arminiusreturns 6y ago

boomboomsubban 6y ago
When? The UK supported Kai-Shek through WWII, when they agreed not to intervene.
- arminiusreturns 6y ago
  Agreeing to not intervene is a long way away from supporting CKS, and not to mention Mao didn't realize rise to power till post-WWII. So to answer your question when, I think in 49 after Mao really solidified power and began to be recognized by other nations. I tried to remember what book I read this in but can't at the moment, but more or less the British were not the most happy about the balance of power status of the pacific after the pacific war (especially after losing naval balance of power in the Atlantic also), so while America was supplying and financing CKS, the British (post-WWII) started at first quietly supporting Mao and then later being one of the first governments to officially recognize and then supply Mao. At least partly a planned Asian type of strategy of tension with Stalin in the northern regions of Mongolia, etc. (they had planned to perhaps let the KMT have a sliver of the south) The reason the British hated CKS and KMT was because they were the heirs of Sun Yat-sen's anti-colonialist movement that sought modern economic development and because of pragmatic or what others might call Machiavellian strategic reasons for not wanting the US to completely dominate the pacific and Asia (which an American friendly nationalist would have made more likely). Interestingly enough, I view the Korean war (police action) as just an extension of this (Cambridge5/6) but I'll leave that for some other time and/or place.
  - boomboomsubban 6y ago
    So they supported Mao after the civil war had ended, largely by recognizing their existence, while still going to war with them over Korea. Not really fair to say they supported him against Kai-Shek, nor to say it was some grand anti-American strategy. Their primary concern in the region was Hong Kong.

Lets not forget they straight up supported Mao against the nationalist and American friendly Chiang Kai-Shek.

boomboomsubban 6y ago

When? The UK supported Kai-Shek through WWII, when they agreed not to intervene.

arminiusreturns 6y ago
Agreeing to not intervene is a long way away from supporting CKS, and not to mention Mao didn't realize rise to power till post-WWII. So to answer your question when, I think in 49 after Mao really solidified power and began to be recognized by other nations. I tried to remember what book I read this in but can't at the moment, but more or less the British were not the most happy about the balance of power status of the pacific after the pacific war (especially after losing naval balance of power in the Atlantic also), so while America was supplying and financing CKS, the British (post-WWII) started at first quietly supporting Mao and then later being one of the first governments to officially recognize and then supply Mao. At least partly a planned Asian type of strategy of tension with Stalin in the northern regions of Mongolia, etc. (they had planned to perhaps let the KMT have a sliver of the south) The reason the British hated CKS and KMT was because they were the heirs of Sun Yat-sen's anti-colonialist movement that sought modern economic development and because of pragmatic or what others might call Machiavellian strategic reasons for not wanting the US to completely dominate the pacific and Asia (which an American friendly nationalist would have made more likely). Interestingly enough, I view the Korean war (police action) as just an extension of this (Cambridge5/6) but I'll leave that for some other time and/or place.
- boomboomsubban 6y ago
  So they supported Mao after the civil war had ended, largely by recognizing their existence, while still going to war with them over Korea. Not really fair to say they supported him against Kai-Shek, nor to say it was some grand anti-American strategy. Their primary concern in the region was Hong Kong.