Suto Isao    Department   Undergraduate School  , School of Political Science and Economics    Position   Professor
Language	Japanese
Publication Date	2017/03
Type	Book Chapter Paper
Title	Disposal of foreign wars surplus by the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner, 1945-1949: An unexplored example of international arms transfer
Contribution Type	Sole-authored
Journal	Disarmament and Arms Control in Ihe History of International Politics: From Ihe Nineteenth Century to the Present
Journal Type	Japan
Publisher	Nihon Keizai Hyouronsha
Volume, Issue, Page	pp.187-217
Details	One remarkable yet often overlooked example of international arms transfer was the distribution of foreign surplus arms following the Second World War. With the end of the war and the termination of the Lend-Lease programme, the disposal of foreign war surplus, including large-scale arms, emerged as an element of U.S. military assistance to foreign countries. However, it was not the most effective resource for the military authority. The aim of this chapter is to identify an overall picture of disposal operations and policies for overseas war surplus from 1945 to 1949 using historical records located in the U.S. National Archives, under the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commissioner (OFLC). We show first that the OFLC disposed of some surplus arms to foreign governments in spite of the fact that it was the policy of the U.S. government not to sell combat material that was still militarised. These arms disposal initiatives were therefore made on the basis of political and security considerations without proper legal process. Second, we make clear the types and sizes of arms transferred from domestic and overseas war surplus to foreign countries. In 1946, the procedure for processing authorisation for arms sales from foreign war surplus was formally adopted, making the OFLC responsible for the arrangements governing the transfers. At the direction of the U.S. president and in accordance with procedures established by the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee, an interim allocation programme transferring surplus military equipment to certain American republics was developed under the Western Hemisphere Military programme. Shortly after the establishment of the interim allocation programme, surplus military equipment transfers were made to Canada, China and Iran. In 1949, the Naval Charter Party Vessels project was established under lease agreements with France, Norway and Latin American states. This surplus military equipment was sold at a very low price, a small percentage of its market value, effectively making it a form of military assistance to these countries.