Southeast Asia in International Politics

SEPTEMBER 1974 MARKED the twentieth anniversary of the United States' decision to join the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Pact (SEATO) which pledged to protect the nations of that area against aggression. Since that time, dramatic chances have taken place both in great power relations in Asia as well as among the states of Southeast Asia. The most startling developments occurred in the spring of 1975 when communist forces captured the Cambodian and South Vietnamese capitals and forced the United States to evacuate its nationals under humiliating circumstances. Although the swift collapse of twenty years of American policy in Indo-China will preoccupy the thoughts of scholars and statesmen for some years, it is well to review the major events of those twenty years before making a judgment about whether American policy has been a total failure there, or whether these twenty years may have bought valuable time for the other nations of the area to put their own houses in order. Furthermore, what can be said about the communist victories in the Indo-China states in terms of the impact on the balance of power in Asia

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