Points of Issue

EXCLUSION OF THE PRC
The strategic exclusion of the recently formed People's Republic of China at the San Francisco Peace Treaty deeply wounded and angered the nation, as John Foster Dulles himself stated that "China suffered the longest and the deepest from Japanese aggression" through wartime atrocities such as the Nanking Massacre and Unit 731. The  Guomingdang (KMT) Nationalist Party in Taiwan, a democratic ally of the US even protested the terms of the SFPT and advised against its generous treatment of Japan.

SNUBBING THE KOREANS
North and South Korea also suffered at the hands of Japanese imperialism during World War II. Due to the ongoing Korean War, North Korea was never included in SFPT deliberations. South Korea was initially invited to the Treaty; however, Dulles tactically uninvited the nation when it was realized South Korea's deep aversion towards Japan could upset the carefully crafted conference, disrupting America's military aspirations in the Pacific. South Korea protested the verdict, but to no avail. Why were two of the nations most deeply afflicted by Japanese violence and imperialism unable to attend reparations discussions?

VAGUE OUTLINE OF REPARATIONS
Indonesia, Burma, and the Philippines, as Japan's Pacific neighbors, had also endured antagonization during the war and the reign of Japanese imperialism. Though these developing countries demanded reparations to be outlined in the SFPT, the US advocated for the opposite. Dulles thought Japan should be excused  from paying reparations, citing Japanese economic rehabilitation as a priority. Despite potentially upsetting their US neighbors Filipino representatives continually pressed for reparations throughout the conference, and as a result, a vague article was included in the treaty. The Philippine government, as well as the Indonesian, chose to move forward with separate reparation agreements with Japan, and Burma refused to even attend the conference, in protest of the lack of reparations.

DISPUTES OVER PACIFIC ISLANDS
Vague Japanese, South Korean, PRC, and Soviet Union claims on islands in the Pacific, such as Takeshima, were not delineated nor properly addressed in the SFPT. This was deliberately done so by the US to dissipate the influence of communism, and in the decades to come these disputes contributed to continual conflicts between the nations. The Indian government refused to participate in the SFPT. The country, very much aware of the makings of colonialism, viewed the US manipulation of Japan as an impediment on Japanese sovereignty and a serpentine power play by the US military, especially in regards to the US takeover of Okinawa. The citizens of Okinawa were essentially ignored, and the island used as a political token by the Japanese. 

The Making of the San Francisco System

The San Francisco System is the culmination of the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the U.S.-Japan Security Alliance, both signed on September 8th, 1951. Under the apparent guise of negotiating terms of peace between post-WWII Japan and the Allied nations,  the San Francisco System, as well as other policies made in the Asian-Pacific during this time continue to affect the geopolitical, economic, and militaristic landscapes of today. The San Francisco System is referred to as a “hub and spokes” mechanism. The U.S. represents the “hub” as the common denominator between the policies while the “spokes” are the nations Australia, South Korea, the Philippines, and Japan that were tied to the U.S. while still remaining separate from one another, adding to the disparity felt between Asian-Pacific nations in the wake of WWII.