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1
League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Table of Contents
Directors’ Welcome 3
Introduction to the Dais 4
President - Dan Mikhaylov 4
President - Annabelle Ghanem 4
Introduction to the Committee 5
History of the Committee 5
Structure and Functions of the Committee 6
Question of Colonial Possessions, Leased, and Occupied Territories in
the Far East 7
Topic Background 7
Introduction 7
Timeline 8
Discussion 12
The Lytton Report 13
China’s Position in International Society 14
Self-Determination in Korea and Indochina 15
The Future of Class C Mandates 16
Bloc Positions 18
Japan 18
European Colonial Powers 18
Far Eastern States 20
Points a Resolution Should Address 21
Further Reading 22
Bibliography 23
2
League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Directors’ Welcome
Dear Delegates,
It is our greatest pleasure to welcome you to the 2021 edition of the London
International Model United Nations. We sincerely hope that this conference
will remain an informative and rewarding experience for you despite not
being in-person.
More than two decades onwards and persevering in the face of the existing
coronavirus pandemic adversity, LIMUN continues to attract students from
different corners of the globe to debate and discuss the international issues
that matter to all of mankind. LIMUN is unwavering in its commitment to
providing a forum for constructive dialogue and instilling in its participants
an understanding of the principles of collaboration and cooperation.
We are honoured to present you the League of Nations committee precisely
a century after the first recorded Model League of Nations simulation took
place in London. In this committee, we will focus on the colonial possessions
and occupied territories in the Far East and endeavour to reconcile the
conflicting interests of the colonial powers with the notions of international
security and self-determination for non-European powers. The topic is
sufficiently broad and multidimensional to allow fruitful debate and a
variety of solutions but requires that delegates compromise and negotiate.
This study guide has been designed to offer a research framework suited to
this task and highlight areas that should be discussed in the committee. We
strongly encourage you to peruse it as you develop your solutions. To stand
out and ensure the most productive committee session possible, we further
recommend reading from various other sources and pondering on creative
solutions that we might not have covered in this guide.
If you have questions before or during the conference, whether concerning
procedural matters or the content of our ensuing discussion, do not hesitate
to contact us.
Best of luck,
Dan Mikhaylov and Annabelle Ghanem (LoN Directors)
LoN-2021@limun.org.uk
3League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Introduction to the Dais
President - Dan Mikhaylov
I am an undergraduate student at the London School of Economics and
Political Science, hoping to work in asset management or hedge funds
upon graduation. I am active in the MUN circuit, whence you might find me
chairing Security Council or NATO at another conference.
Outside university, I am an amateur investor, whose small portfolio
comprises stocks from four different continents, and a freelance political
journalist. My greatest highlight was securing a research fellowship at the
Pinsker Centre, a think tank specialising in Middle Eastern and Israeli affairs.
I look forward to watching delegates experiment with this exciting new
format and negotiate their way out of the stalemate, which the League of
Nations failed to do. I hope that this simulation will provide a memorable
learning experience and is enthused to meet all the delegates.
President - Annabelle Ghanem
I am an undergraduate student at the American University of Beirut double
majoring in Political Science and Education, with a minor in International
Law. I began my MUN journey in high school, having won multiple awards
as both a Delegate and Chair in various international conferences, while
serving in multiple leadership roles. In the year 2021, I am set to Chair in over
five international conferences stretching from the borders of Pakistan, all
the way to the borders of New York City. I also am the Secretary-General for
Beirut International Model United Nations 2021.
Beyond the academic and MUN realms, I also work as a writer and Chief of
the Internship Program at The Phoenix Daily, an independent Lebanese
newspaper in Beirut.
I look forward to welcoming hardworking and spirited delegates to the
League of Nations committee at LIMUN 2021, and am beyond excited to
witness the intellectual contributions and solutions that shall be drafted and
debated upon throughout the conference. I sincerely hope that this
simulation will be an exceptionally unique and grand experience for all
participating delegates.
4League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Introduction to the Committee
After the devastating first World War finally ended in 1918 1, it became
evident that the coexistence of states with no international mediation or
regulation present was a farfetched idea. Thus in 1920, the League of Nations
was formed, and headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. The entity served
as an international forum tasked with mediating, resolving, and settling
international disputes that arise, particularly throughout the transition
period post World War 1.2
History of the Committee
One year after the First World War had officially come to an end, Central and
Allied Powers made their way to France in order to sign the treaty of
Versailles, a document that has been having an impact on the political
spectrum of the world to this very day.3 The Paris Conference founded the
stepping stones for the League of Nations, with former American President
Woodrow Wilson strongly advocating for the establishment of an
international body in his “Fourteen Points for Peace.”4 The Treaty of
Versailles initiated the formation of the League in 1919, which soon had 44
member states from all corners of the globe participating. Shockingly
enough, the United States of America was not one of them, due to prevailing
isolationism in the American political thinking at the time.
On the 10th of January 1920, the League of Nations ratified its first treaty, the
Treaty of Versailles, officially ending the First World War. However, the work
had just begun for the League beyond that point. Since then, the entity
became responsible for resolving all political disputes around the world.
The League's most notable achievements include, resolving the Swedish-
Finnish clash over the Aaland islands, safeguarding Albania, lifting Austria
out of financial distress, while continuously supporting refugees and people
in need. The entity’s success managed to maintain peace for over a decade.
States began turning to the League of Nations for support against invasions
led by other states. However, quite often, the League’s jurisdiction did not
cover particular nations who never signed on as member states. A primary
example of the League’s weakness is when the entity rejected Persia’s plea
1
Lengel, “To Conquer Hell.”
2
Potter, “Origin of the System of Mandates under the League of Nations.”
3
Sharp, “The Enforcement of the Treaty of Versailles, 1919–1923.”.
4
LaSaine, “Wilson, Woodrow (1856–1924).”
5League of Nations LIMUN 2021
for help against Russia’s invasion. Russia was never invited to take part in
the League of Nations due to its communist ideology. Thus the League’s
jurisdiction did not extend onto the state, and no interference was able to
have been made.
Structure and Functions of the Committee
The League of Nations began with 42 founding member states and
consisted of three main organs.5
The first organ was the Secretariat, which consisted of a Secretary-General
appointed by the council, with additional staff providing administrative
support. This organ was tasked with preparing the agenda and publishing
the treaties adopted by the League. In other words, the civil service of the
League. The second organ was the Council, an authoritative sub-body
tasked with safeguarding world peace. The council’s membership and
structure was changed on multiple occasions, resulting with a total number
of 5 permanent members, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Japan, and
later on, Germany, as well as 9 non-permanent members chosen and
elected by the Assembly, the third organ. The Assembly was the largest
organ of the League of Nations, where each and every member state was
invited and equally represented by one vote. The Assembly sessions were
held once every year. These three bodies were the foundation of the
structure of the League of Nations.6 Several committees were created as the
years went on, each tackling a particular sector such as health, labour laws,
refugee rights, and more.
Funding was one of the key aspects of the entity’s success, having helped
multiple states out of economic despair, such as Austria. The funding was
mainly generated by powerful member states who made generous
contributions, particularly the permanent members of the council.7
5
“League of Nations.” SSRN, June 5, 2009.".
6
Ibid.
7
Singer, “The Finances of the League of Nations: International Organization.”
6League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Question of Colonial Possessions,
Leased, and Occupied Territories in
the Far East
Topic Background
Introduction
This topic presents a challenging case for delegates to consider; we shall set
our starting date in October 1932. The Far East, hereinafter taken to include
East Asia, Indochina, and the Pacific islands adjacent to them, has been
subjected to the establishment of foreign concessions by local polities to
European colonial powers and Japan.
Furthermore, the so-called “unequal treaties”, many of which came about in
the aftermath of colonial conflicts, and the 1920 Paris Peace Conference
created a series of leased and occupied territories in the Far East.8 Such
splintering of the Far Eastern states’ sovereignty, most visible in China, and
the concomitant subjugation of smaller Far Eastern states, such as
Indochina (present-day Vietnam) and Korea, has contributed to the rise of
regional nationalism. This, in turn, has resulted in protest movements and
insurgencies against the colonial authorities.
In addition, delegates should remember Japan’s aggressive expansionism
in Manchuria and its confrontation with the Kuomintang nationalist
government in China, which aimed to restore China’s international standing
by reversing earlier concessions and centralising China around nationalism.
It is in these circumstances that the Manchurian crisis had arisen in the early
1930s and the Lytton Commission of the League of Nations presented its
findings on the origins of this crisis. This poses a further threat to the already
fragile balance of power in the Far Eastern region and could prompt the
international community to reconsider the question of colonial territories,
occupied lands, and leased concessions in the Far East altogether.
Delegates are advised to remain coherent with the set timeline, while
conducting their research prior to, and during, the conference and
representing their assigned country.
8
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 45-9.
7League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Timeline
August 29, 1842 - The Treaty of Nanjing was signed between Britain and the
Qing Dynasty of China, officially ceding control over the occupied Hong
Kong to Britain.9
April 6, 1849 - France received the French Concession in Shanghai from the
Chinese imperial court.10
December 1, 1887 - The Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Beijing was signed, giving
Portugal perpetual colonial rights to Macau.11
September 6, 1899 - The US Secretary of State, John Hay, circulated the Open
Door Note to major European powers. It proposed to keep China open to
trade with all countries on an equal basis and prevent any single colonial
power from colonising China entirely by protecting China’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity from partition.12 Furthermore, it asked that major powers
refrained from intervening with other states’ treaty ports and permitted
Chinese authorities to collect tariffs on the same basis. This policy became
widely accepted by the international community as a means to limit the
colonial powers’ individual expansionism in China.13
August 22, 1910 - Japan signed the annexation treaty with Korea, formally
incorporating the latter into the former’s state.14
October 10, 1911 - February 12, 1912 - The Xinhai Revolution in China toppled
the Qing Emperor and created a provisional government in Nanjing under
the United League leader, Sun Yat-Sen, who later became the leader of the
Nationalist Kuomintang movement.15
January 18, 1915 – Japan issued its Twenty-One Demands to China, which
demanded a confirmation of Japanese authority over the Shandong
province, barred China from conceding territory to foreign powers in the
future, ceded central Chinese mines to Japan, and expanded Japanese
sphere of influence in Manchuria and Inner Mongolia.16 In China, this later
paved the path for the May Fourth Movement, an anti-imperialist political
9
Wood, “The Treaty of Nanking, ” 181.
10
Fraser, “International Settlement at Shanghai,” 40-2.
11
Mendes, Macau Negotiations, 11-2.
12
Lawrence, “Open Door Policy.”
13
Lawrence, “Open Door Policy.”
14
Iyenaga, “Japan’s Annexation,” 202-4.
15
Brophy, Garnaut, and Tighe, “The Xinhai Revolution,” 319-22.
16
Nish, Japanese Foreign Policy, 98-9.
8League of Nations LIMUN 2021
movement that grew out of student protests in 1919.17 Under economic
pressure from Britain and the United States, Japan reached a compromise
with China and dropped its most egregious demands.
November 2, 1917 - Japan and the United States signed the Lansing-Ishii
Agreement, in which they agreed to respect China’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity and ensure equal access to commerce and industry in
the country as per the Open Door Policy.18 The US recognised that Japan
had special interests in Manchuria.19
January 18, 1919 – The Paris Peace Conference commenced. The conference
produced the Covenant of the League of Nations and enacted unilateral
decisions, largely spearheaded by Britain, Italy, France, Japan, and the
United States. The majority rejected Japan’s proposal to include a racial
equality in the Covenant.20 Some scholars believe that this exacerbated the
chasm between Western colonial powers and Japan and prevented
compromise in the coming decades.21 In addition, the conference assigned
different colonial powers control over Germany’s overseas colonies with the
mandate to administer them until they were thought prepared for
independence. Japan received mandates for most of Germany’s Pacific
islands, while Australia occupied German New Guinea, New Zealand took
Western Samoa, and Britain imposed its rule on Nauru. These were known
as “Class C” mandates.22 Mandate holders were responsible for submitting
annual reports to the League of Nations Permanent Mandates Commission
(PMC) and publicise the progress made in preparing the mandate territories
for independence.23
March 1, 1919 - The March 1st student demonstrations take place in more
than 1,000 towns across the Japanese Korea. More than 7,500 students were
killed, 16,000 were wounded, and 46,000 were arrested in this unsuccessful
campaign for Korean independence from Japan.24
May 4, 1919 - The May Fourth movement in China arose from a series of
nationwide student protests in response to the Chinese government’s
17
Chen, “The May Fourth Movement ” 63-7.
18
Vinson, “Lansing-Ishii Agreement,” 57-60.
19
Vinson, “Lansing-Ishii Agreement,” 65.
20
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 45.
21
Burkman “Japan and the League,” 47-8.
22
Wright, Mandates Under The League, 593-5.
23
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 50.
24
Corby, “March 1st Movement.”
9League of Nations LIMUN 2021
failure to prevent the Japanese annexation of the Shandong territories,
which it had temporarily occupied during the First World War.25 This
movement helped foment a Chinese nationalist public conscience that
exerted political pressure on all subsequent Chinese leaders.
February 1, 1922 - The Nine-Power Pact between the United States, Belgium,
China, France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and Portugal
affirmed China’s territorial integrity.26 This was arguably the result of
European concerns about Japanese designs on China, which seemingly
violated the Open Door Policy.
December 29, 1928 – China’s nationalist government finished its successful
campaign (known as the Northern Expedition) against the Beiyang
government, heavily supported by Japan, and established nominal control
over the Republic of China. This heralded the beginning of the so-called
Nanjing Decade, during which China actively pursued industrialisation and
militarisation and embraced a more hostile attitude towards Japan as well
as a more assertive attitude towards other colonial powers to nullify the
historical “unequal treaties” and improve its international standing.27
June 1929 – Japan recognised the Kuomintang government as the
legitimate authority of China.28 Previously, Japan had been engaging the
Kuomintang forces militarily in 1927 and 1928 in the Shandong province.29
February 10, 1930 – Yen Bai mutiny in French Indochina involved circa 100
Vietnamese troops in the French colonial army – supported by the
Vietnamese Nationalist Party – rising up against France.30 The revolt aimed
at establishing independence, but was brutally crushed.31
May 1931 – Kuomintang China issued a mandate, terminating negotiations
with major powers and the United States and imposing strict rules on
foreign nationals in China.32
September 18, 1931 – The Mukden Incident involved the Japanese Kwantung
Army detonating a small quantity of dynamite near a railroad owned by
25
Chen, “May Fourth Movement,” 70.
26
The Nine-Power Treaty.
27
Eastman, “Nationalist China,”116-7.
28
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 716.
29
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 715.
30
Pelley, Postcolonial Vietnam, 199-200.
31
Duiker, The Rise of Nationalism in Vietnam, 161-65.
32
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 46.
10League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Japan’s South Manchuria Railway. This was undertaken without
authorisation from the central government in Tokyo, but was directly
orchestrated by the Kwantung Army generals.33 Japan blamed Chinese
dissidents for this and claimed they fired upon the local patrol forces,
choosing to retaliate with an invasion of the Chinese-owned Manchuria.34 In
the incident’s aftermath, the League of Nations launched the Lytton
Commission to investigate the legality of Japan’s actions and advise on a
pathway to disengagement.35 In the meantime, Japan had occupied
Manchurian cities of Mukden, Changchun, Antung, and Yingkou.36 It
rejected the League of Nations requests to withdraw troops from Mukden
on accounts of self-defence against formidable anti-Japanese sentiments in
China.37
December 1931 – The League of Nations dropped its demands for the
Japanese military pullback from the occupied Manchuria, a move which
was heavily criticised by small member-states. Japan proceeded to annex
Manchuria entirely and place soldiers on the border with Chinese Inner
Mongolia.38 The December 10 resolution appointed the Lytton Commission
with purely advisory jurisdiction.39
January 28, 1932 – The Shanghai Incident saw a prolonged military standoff
between Japan and the Kuomintang in Shanghai, which was divided into
the Chinese quarter, the French quarter, and the International Settlement,
which was further subdivided into Japanese, British, American, and Italian
segments. 40 Some scholars believe that this stand-off was a product of the
wider Japanese ambitions to increase its territorial presence in China and
the burgeoning anti-Japanese sentiments in China.41 Likewise, this
stemmed from an incident, where five Japanese Buddhist monks from an
ardently nationalist sect were attacked by the public for shouting anti-
Chinese slogans, and the Japanese nationalists retaliated by burning down
the Sanyou Factory in Shanghai and killing two Chinese in the fire. 42
33
Godart, “East Asia League Movement,” 240.
34
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 708.
35
Kuhn, “The Lytton Report,” 96.
36
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 47.
37
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 48.
38
Chang “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 52.
39
Kuhn, “The Lytton Report,” 96.
40
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 731.
41
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 733.
42
Niderost, “The Fall of Shanghai.”
11League of Nations LIMUN 2021
May 5, 1932 – Bilateral negotiations between China and Japan ended the
Shanghai Incident by prescribing that China withdrew its soldiers 20
kilometres away from Shanghai and that a select group of countries –
including France and Britain – monitor the situation alongside Japan.43 In
return, Japan agreed to withdraw troops to the Japanese settlement area,
but with no timetable.44
August 25, 1932 – Japan recognised Manchukuo, a puppet Manchurian
regime with the former Qing Emperor of China, Pu Yi, and controlled by the
Japanese Kwantung Army on the ground, as a sovereign state.45 In this
capacity, Manchukuo ceded control of its railway network and its major
industries to Japan, thereby further legitimising Japanese presence and
exploitation of the local natural resources.46
October, 1932 – The Lytton Commission presented its findings to the League
of Nations Council and Assembly. It contested the Japanese narrative of the
Mukden Incident and recognised that, in a region so ethnically divided as
Manchuria, the Manchukuo government neither represented, nor was
supported by, the local Chinese population.47 Moreover, it recommended
not returning Manchuria to China, but providing it with autonomy within
the Japanese realm, as Manchuria had a substantial Japanese minority,
which in the commission’s view, could not have been accommodated into
the Chinese society.48
Discussion
The question of colonial possessions and leased/occupied territories in the
Far East has several dimensions:
● The Lytton Commission findings and the status of Manchuria
● China’s position in the international society
● Self-determination movements in Korea and Indochina
● The future of the Class C mandate territories
While the last question may not have direct links to the situation in the Far
East, it should nonetheless be mentioned in conjunction with it for three
43
Ibid, 737.
44
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 60.
45
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 739.
46
Ibid, 739.
47
Ibid, 741.
48
Kuhn, “The Lytton Report,” 98.
12League of Nations LIMUN 2021
reasons. Firstly, those occupied territories were just as shut out from
international trade as other colonial possessions, which was a point of
contention between Japan and the European colonial powers. 49 Secondly,
Japanese aggression in Manchuria and Shanghai made Britain and its
dominion consider Japan a potential threat to their mandate holdings.50
Thirdly, self-determination movements in those territories could become
inspired by the successes of Chinese and Vietnamese nationalists, thereby
causing political instability in those areas.
The Lytton Report
The Lytton Commission presented its findings to the League of Nations in
October 1932, after Japan had the opportunity to prepare its counter-
arguments in a rejoinder report.51 Research was compiled and written up by
British, French, Italian, and German representatives, who had visited Tokyo,
Shanghai, and Manchuria to observe the situation and conduct interviews
with the local population.52 The commission encountered multiple
challenges, including non-collaboration by the Japanese police and the
interviewees’ fear of political reprisals against them.53
It proposed that multilateral diplomatic efforts would produce few results
and fail to restore the status-quo-and conversely suggested that Japan and
China should conduct bilateral negotiations to provide Manchuria with self-
government.54 This ran counter to China’s insistence on territorial integrity
and fuelled anti-imperialist sentiments in the region.55
Furthermore, the report recommended to the League to negotiate the
Japanese military withdrawal from Manchuria, which it considered violating
Articles 10 (respect members’ territorial integrity), Article 11 (safeguarding
peace of nations), Article 15, Section 4 (settlement of disputes with League
supervision), and Article 16, Section 2 (Council’s duty to recommend military
contributions to protect the Covenant) of the League of Nations Covenant. 56
The Lytton Commission also found that Japan violated the first article of the
Nine-Power Pact, which stipulated that the contracting powers would
49
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 56.
50
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 755-6.
51
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 741.
52
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 53.
53
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 53.
54
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 55-6.
55
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 53.
56
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 56.
13League of Nations LIMUN 2021
respect the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of China;
provide opportunities for China to develop and maintain an effective and
stable government; establishing and maintaining equal opportunity for
commerce throughout China; and to refrain from seeking special rights and
privileges in China that would undermine the rights or security of other
nations.57
China’s Position in International Society
Figure 1: Map of China and the Far East in February, 1932. Source: Omniatlas 58
By 1932, there had been a gradual shift in Western thinking about the
“unequal treaties” concluded between China and the European colonial
nations in the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. Most
Western powers have returned to China their reparation payments that
China were to make under the treaties, particularly in the 1901 Boxer
Protocol.59 The 1926 Beijing Conference committed foreign powers to return
to the Chinese government control the right to levy custom duties over
colonial possessions and reduce any outstanding extraterritoriality rights.60
The International Settlement in Shanghai, consisting of Italian, Japanese,
British, and American sections, fell under Chinese sovereignty, and Chinese
57
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 63.
58
Westera, Asia Pacific 1932.
59
Wang. "Tariff Autonomy," 268-69.
60
Foreign Policy Association, The Conflict of Policies in China, 7-12.
14League of Nations LIMUN 2021
officials were elected as representatives in its Municipal Court.61 Belgium,
the first of major European colonial powers, renounced its rights to the
Shanghai area in 1930, while Britain returned some of its concessions in
Hankow, Chinkiang, and Kiukiang in 1927 as well as the Xiamen and
Weihaiwei in 1930.62 The Kuomintang government had previously taken
over the Russian concessions in 1920.63
At the same time, the Kuomintang government had been expanding its
borders to incorporate Chinese territories that had previously been under
the control of various local warlords and campaigned for a permanent seat
for China on the League of Nations Council.64 This task has been
complicated by the existence of multiple factions within China, ranging
from Communists and the Shanghai Kuomintang to various warlords, who
are only nominally united by Chinese nationalism and the aforementioned
goal of striving towards the restoration of full Chinese sovereignty and
territorial integrity. Therefore, China’s internal political stability and the
security of international trade with China in many respects hinges on the
Western powers’ acquiescence to restoration of Chinese sovereignty and
their ability to strike a compromise with Japan.
However, Japan’s aggression in Manchuria and the Sino-Japanese tensions
in Shanghai demonstrate that this commitment to review China’s
international standing is not universal. Although Western nations are
starting to reconsider their attitudes towards China, following the backlash
from the May Fourth Movement and China’s explicit rejection of the Treaty
of Versailles, they must balance their priorities between maintaining a
working relationship with Japan and improving relations with a centralising
Chinese state.
Self-Determination in Korea and Indochina
Calls for self-determination at the Paris Peace Conference inspired local
nationalists to contest colonial rule in the region. Notable examples of this
included the Indochinese uprising in 1930 and the March 1st Movement in
Korea, both of which endeavoured to secure independence.
61
Johnstone, "Foreign Concessions and Settlements,” 947.
62
Johnstone, "Foreign Concessions and Settlements,” 942-44.
63
Johnstone, "Foreign Concessions and Settlements,” 944.
64
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 67-9; Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 57.
15League of Nations LIMUN 2021
The former was crushed by the French authorities, but resistance was
reinforced by the Communist Nghe-Tinh Soviets and continued into 1931. 65
Moreover, Siam considered the southwestern part of Indochina to belong to
be historically Siamese and was pushing for their return to Siam.66
The latter was not supported by the Communists from the USSR, but
reflected the Korean Provisional Government in Shanghai’s attempts to
send a Korean delegation and demand for American and Chinese support
for Korean independence.67 However, later protests, including the 1931
Wanpaoshan Incident, resulted in backlashes not only against the Japanese
authorities, but also against the Chinese nationals living in Korea. 68 As a
result of these riots, Japanese officials who advocated peaceful co-existence
with China lost their positions.
Delegates should consider developing a blueprint to combat these
sentiments comprehensively, while remaining true to self-determination
and assisting the colonies’ preparation for sovereign rule. Likewise,
delegates would need to consider the role played by the Soviet Union, which
is yet to join the League of Nations, but which remains integral to regional
security. Furthermore, both Japan and China investigated ways to
incorporate the USSR into a non-aggression alliance to prevent conflict
between them and dissuade local nationalists and socialists from
challenging authority.69
The Future of Class C Mandates
The Class C mandates were assigned during the Paris Peace Conference
and required that Japan seized temporary control over Germany’s Pacific
islands and the Shandong province, Australia took over German New
Guinea, New Zealand occupied Western Samoa, and Britain oversaw
Nauru.70
65
Duiker, Nationalism in Vietnam, 179.
66
Hell, Siam and the League,88-92.
67
Manela, The Wilsonian Moment, 119-35.
68
Em, Sovereignty and Historiography in Modern Korea, 125-29.
69
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 63-4.
70
Wright, Mandates, 593-5.
16League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Figure 2: Class C Mandates in the Far East and the Pacific. Key: 1 = Japan, 2 = Australia, 3
= Britain, 4 = New Zealand. Source: Wikimedia Commons 71
Class C mandates were administered according to two fundamental
principles: non-annexation and administration to develop the territory for
the benefit of the native people. These mandates were supposed to prepare
the local populations for independence, but the roadmap for this task might
have to be reconsidered given the colonial powers’ reticence to surrender
strategically valuable territories in the Pacific and in China as well as Japan’s
recent expansionism. However, if colonial powers continue to ignore their
commitment to helping these territories become independent, the latter
risk giving birth to anti-imperialist movements that might inhibit
commercial flows in the region and cause political instability. Their
application to the self-determination movements is limited, but the status
of Class C mandates should be considered in the wider picture as occupied
territories that might encounter the same problems as Western and
Japanese colonial possessions.
71
Oxhop, League of Nations mandate Pacific.
17League of Nations LIMUN 2021
Bloc Positions
Japan
On this issue, Japan has three conflicting priorities. Firstly, it is interested in
territorial expansion at the expense of China to prevent external threats,
such as the Soviet Union and Chinese nationalism in the region, and gain
access to vital natural resources.72 Japan is concerned by China’s rumoured
role in the assassination of Captain Nakamura in Manchuria and the Korean
peasant riots as well as by information that the boycott China imposed on
Japanese goods extends to the refusal to render services to Japanese
citizens, who account for 70% of all expatriates living in China.73 Secondly,
Japan perceives the League of Nations as a Franco-British attempt to
protect the international status-quo and preserve their geopolitical
dominance.74
Following the Shidehara doctrine that prescribes developing industrial
capabilities and ensuring economic security before projecting power on the
international stage, Japan is interested in opening European colonies in the
Far East to trade and creating a roadmap for their integration within the
League in the form of a Far Eastern Locarno Pact.75 However, the Shidehara
doctrine - and domestic nationalist sentiments - would likely force Japan to
insist on remaining in Manchuria, which has considerable economic
resources and serves as a hedge from potential Soviet aggression against
Japan.76 Furthermore, Japan is opposed to any disarmament and regional
demilitarisation, unless these would involve the US and the USSR and
ensure an equal level of disarmament.77 Thirdly, Japan would not want to
aggravate European colonial powers, which have overlooked its
Manchurian enterprise and which constitute Japan’s major trading partners
that could damage its economy in a potential military struggle.78
European Colonial Powers
European colonial powers – Britain, France, and the Netherlands – view Far
Eastern nationalism with askance and are interested in maintaining the
72
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 59.
73
Kuhn, “The Lytton Report,” 98; Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 713.
74
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 47.
75
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 45; 55.
76
Hill, Japanese Foreign Policy, 287-92.
77
Hill, Japanese Foreign Policy, 53.
78
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 49.
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favourable international power arrangement. Remembering the 1930
uprising in Indochina and concerned by the infiltration of revolutionary men
and ideas from China, France approves of Japanese expansionism in
Manchuria as long as it does not imperil French possessions in the Shanghai
province.79 Although France considers Japan a potential threat in the region,
it is in no economic and military position to actively oppose Japanese
encroachments in Manchuria.80 The Netherlands, which control the Dutch
East Indies, convinced Japan to renounce all present and future claims to
the islands, and fear that China’s political consolidation under the
Kuomintang nationalist government in Nanjing will embolden other
movements for statehood in the Far East to pursue their aims more
aggressively.81
Although Britain wants to preserve its geopolitical and economic
predominance without directly confronting Japan and consequently
mirrors its counterparts, its attitude towards Japan is comparatively more
nuanced. Britain opposed Japanese occupation of Germany’s Shandong.82
The British state was likewise alarmed by Japan’s consolidation of power in
Korea, since it nullified Britain’s privileged commercial agreements with the
Korean governments.83 It is also alarmed by Japan’s recent provocations in
Shanghai, concerned that such provocations reflected wider Japanese
designs around the Yangtze river that would threaten British imperial assets
in Shanghai and China as a whole.84 However, it is precisely this concern for
its imperial holdings in China/Asia that Britain has to balance its
relationships with Japan to avoid potentially exposing Hong Kong and
Singapore to external attacks.85 However, France, Britain, and the
Netherlands are willing to partner with Japan on the issue of leased and
colonised territories in the Far East, if it minimises the risk of confrontation.
These countries are among the largest donors to the League of Nations and
have considerable political leverage in Europe.86
79
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 723.
80
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 723.
81
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 723.
82
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 45.
83
Ji-Hyeng, “Japanese Annexation of Korea,” 92.
84
Ian H. Nish, Alliance in Decline: A Study in Anglo-Japanese Relations 1908-23 (London:
Bloomsbury, 2012), 334)
85
Steiner, The Lights that Failed, 732; 738.
86
Burkman, “Japan and the League,” 51.
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Far Eastern States
Siam and China are the organisation’s only Far Eastern members. Their
priority is obtaining full legal equality with European nations and the
concomitant international recognition. The former underwent a revolution
in June 1932 that proclaimed the creation of a constitutional monarchy and
marked a shift towards westernising Siamese political institutions.87 In 1931,
it attempted to pressure France to return some of the territories of French
Indochina, which it considered Siamese.88 Likewise, the latter has sought
renegotiation of the unequal treaties, into which European colonists had
forced China and which had ceded legal, financial, and military control over
significant portions of its territory to foreign powers.89
Furthermore, China has previously campaigned for a permanent seat on the
League Council, claiming that Japan cannot represent Asian interests as a
colonial power.90 Both states have partially overlooked Japanese aggression.
Siam maintains good relations with Japan to counterpoise potential French
aggression from Indochina and British aggression from Malay or the British
Raj.91 Similarly, the Nanjing government understands that overt
confrontation between the Kwantung Army and its forces would prove its
undoing and has even contemplated conceding Manchuria in return for
guarantees of reconciliation and peaceful coexistence.92
However, such appeasement, known as the Policy of International
Pacification, is internally divisive and heavily resisted by the public and the
Canton Kuomintang officials as well as many warlords and other claimants
to political power in China.93 A strong sense of Chinese nationalism and
patriotism characterised the entire United Front movement, and is among
the few stances, on which Chinese political groups are largely united. 94
Domestic anti-Japanese sentiments, espoused by students and senior
political figures alike, have compelled the authorities to boycott Japanese
goods.95 This burgeoning nationalism in society may precipitate a
87
Hell, Siam and the League, 21-4.
88
Hell, Siam and the League, 188.
89
Kaufman, China’s Diplomacy and the League,” 608.
90
Kaufman, China’s Diplomacy and the League,” 621-4.
91
Hell, Siam and the League, 42.
92
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 52.
93
Sun, “China’s International Approach,” 47-9.
94
Bickers, Out of China, 134.
95
Chang, “Japan’s Aggression in China,” 55.
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revanchist war against Japan and exacerbate relations between China and
other colonial powers in the region, which have occupied Chinese land since
the nineteenth century. Because of this, China must adopt a delicate and
balanced approach to further its goals without allowing tensions to brew
and escalate.
Points a Resolution Should Address
● What solutions can the League of Nations propose to remedy the
Sino-Japanese brinkmanship? Concluding a Locarno Pact for the
region? Brokering a tripartite demilitarisation agreement between
Japan, China, and the Soviet Union? Creating a wider
demilitarisation zone in the Far East? Enforcing previous
agreements, such as the Nine Power Treaty, that stipulated the
contracting powers’ responsibilities in ensuring Chinese sovereignty
and territorial integrity?
● How should territorial disputes in the region be resolved? Can the
Permanent International Court of Justice be used as an objective
arbitrator in these disputes?
● How can the principle of self-determination be upheld in the Far
Eastern colonised, occupied, and leased territories? Should the
League sponsor and oversee referenda in those territories, and if so,
what procedures should those willing to petition for a referendum
follow and against which criteria should the League assess their
claims?
● How should League of Nations members address the threat of
national self-determination movements and socialist revolutionaries
in the Far East? Can and should the League of Nations establish a
peacekeeping force to assist states in reaffirming their sovereignty
over areas that might come under the control of local rebel
nationalist movements?
● How and within what timelines should the League of Nations
prepare Class C mandate territories for self-determination and
sovereignty? How can this transition be safeguarded against radical
ideologies?
● Should preparations for mandate sovereignty take place or should
mandate-holding powers be allowed to incorporate them officially?
● Can the League of Nations precipitate trade liberalisation in the Far
East that would involve colonies and sovereign states alike?
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● Should the Lytton Commission serve as a precedent for resolving
similar territorial disputes? What should the resolution timeline be
regarding the future status of concessions and foreign-held
territories in China?
Further Reading
● Best, Antony, Jussi M. Hanhimäki, Joseph A. Maiolo, and Kirsten E.
Schulze. International History of the Twentieth Century and
beyond. London: Routledge, 2014. Available at:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/international-history-
twentieth-century-beyond-antony-best-jussi-hanhim%C3%A4ki-
joseph-maiolo-kirsten-schulze/10.4324/9781315739717
○ This book provides an overview of international politics, and we
highly recommend perusing Chapters 3 and 4 to understand
the situation in the Far East and the state of European
colonialism.
● Chinasage. “Treaty Ports in China, 1557-1999.” Available at:
https://www.chinasage.info/foreign-enclaves.htm
○ This webpage provides a comprehensive timeline of when the
different European and Japanese concessions in China had
come into existence with maps.
● The Commission of Enquiry of the League of Nations. Situation in
Manchuria: Report of the Lytton Commission of Enquiry. Geneva:
League of Nations, 1932. Available at:
https://www.wdl.org/en/item/11601/
○ The full text of the Lytton Report, as circulated to the League of
Nations Assembly and Council in October 1932.
● The Nine-Power Treaty. Washington DC, 1922. Available at:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/pre-war/9_power.html
○ The full text of the Nine-Power Treaty.
22League of Nations LIMUN 2021
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