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Y218: International Relations 1890–1941

The Far East 1918–1941: the war with China and the road to Pearl Harbor

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on the Sino-Japanese war from 1937 and the powers’ response, Britain’s weakness in Asia, hardening American policy, Indo-China and the oil embargo, the Tripartite Pact, the failed negotiations and the attack on the United States.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Evaluation

What were the final negotiations between Japan and the United States about, and why did they fail?

Process

How did the powers respond to the outbreak of the China war in 1937?

Numbers

How did war between Japan and the United States begin?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did the war between Japan and China from 1937 affect the wider international situation?

    Model answer

    It tied down the bulk of the Japanese army in an unwinnable campaign, drew American and British aid to China, and pushed Japan towards seizing the resources of South East Asia to finish the war.

  2. 2

    How did the powers respond to the outbreak of the China war in 1937?

    Model answer

    A conference of the signatories of the treaty guaranteeing China achieved nothing because Japan refused to attend, and Roosevelt's suggestion of quarantining aggressors met a hostile public reaction at home.

  3. 3

    What was Britain's difficulty in resisting Japanese expansion in the 1930s?

    Model answer

    Britain had vast Asian interests but was simultaneously threatened by Germany and Italy in Europe, its naval base strategy depended on a fleet it could not spare, and it needed American cooperation that was not forthcoming.

  4. 4

    How did American policy towards Japan harden between 1939 and 1941?

    Model answer

    The United States gave notice on its commercial treaty with Japan, restricted exports of aviation fuel and scrap metal, increased loans and supplies to China, and finally froze Japanese assets and cut off oil.

  5. 5

    Why was the Japanese move into Indo-China so provocative?

    Model answer

    Occupying the north cut a supply route to China, and the move into the south in 1941 placed Japanese forces within striking distance of Malaya, the Philippines and the Dutch oilfields, which the United States and Britain could only read as preparation for further conquest.

  6. 6

    What was the effect of the American oil embargo of 1941 on Japanese thinking?

    Model answer

    Japan imported most of its oil from the United States and had perhaps two years of reserves, so its leaders concluded that they must either abandon the war in China or seize the southern oilfields quickly.

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