«ТАЙВАНСЬКА ПРОБЛЕМА» В СИСТЕМІ МІЖНАРОДНИХ ВІДНОСИН НАПРИКІНЦІ 40-х рр. ХХ ст.

The article examines the process of formation of the "Taiwan problem" in the late 1940s. Among the issues raised by the author: new trends in US Chinese policy in the context of the prospect of defeat of the Chiang Kai-shek regime in 1948; the process of forming a new course towards Taiwan (Formosa) in 1948– 1949; the influence on this process of the US Secretariat of State, the American diplomatic corps in East Asia, and the United States Joint Staff Committee. Two plans for using Taiwan in Washington's geostrategic strategy during the period under study are separately considered. The article determined that the key plan was to ensure the evacuation of Chinese troops led by the Kuomintang and their further military and economic support in the fight against the com- munists. The author also notes that a plan to transfer power on the island to supporters of state self-determination of local aborigines was also considered. As a result of the research, the author came to the following conclusions. The possible vic- tory of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Chinese Civil War (1946– 1949), and with it the threat of the spread of Soviet influence to large areas of the Far East, caused Washington to fear the loss of its military-strategic posi- tions in the region. At the end of 1948, in various circles of the American po- litical establishment, which had formed around the administration of President Harry Truman, the idea of the inadmissibility of a possible transition to com- munist control of the island of Taiwan was taking shape. In this regard, in late 1948 and early 1949, the White House began to formulate plans to maintain its geopolitical control over Formosa. The priority direction of Taiwan policy was the continued support of the Kuomintang authorities, which, under American control, was to make Taiwan an impregnable fortress on the way to the spread of Soviet influence in this part of East Asia. It is noted that subsequent articles will examine the further evolution of Ameri- can policy towards Taiwan.