Four-Power Treaty

The nihongo|Four-Power Treaty|四ヵ国条約|Yonkakoku Jōyaku was a treaty signed by the United States, Great Britain, France and Japan at the Washington Naval Conference on 13 December 1921. It was partly a follow-on to the Lansing-Ishii Treaty, signed between the US and Japan.

By the Four-Power Treaty, all parties agreement to maintain the status quo in the Pacific, by respecting the Pacific holdings of the other countries signing the agreement, not seeking further territorial expansion, and mutual consultation with each other in the event of a dispute over territorial possessions. However, the main result of the Four Power Treaty was the termination of the Anglo-Japanese Alliance of 1902. The Four-Power Treaty was also an attempt at preventing future wars so that the United States could continue its isolationist-oriented direction of foreign policy, which it held until the beginning of World War II in Europe (1939).

References

* Ian H. Nish, "The Anglo-Japanese Alliance: The Diplomacy of Two Island Empires 1894-1907", The Athlone Press, London and Dover NH, first published 1966.
* J. Chal Vinson "The Drafting of the Four-Power Treaty of the Washington Conference", Journal of Modern History, Vol. 25, No. 1 (Mar., 1953), pp. 40-47

External links

* [http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/diplomacy/forrel/1922v1/tr1921.htm] – containing the full text of the Four-Power Treaty