American Research Journal of History and Culture

Shaoming Zhai

 As Japanese expansionist policies toward mainland China threatened the “Open Door Policy” in early 20th century, United States’ decade-long determination to defend its overseas economic interests across the Pacific put the two nations in a trajectory of conflict. At the dawn of a Pacific arms race, the Washington Naval Conference of 1921 brought nine nations to discuss interests in the Pacific and naval disarmament. The resulting Washington Naval Treaty was a diplomatic triumph in that it successfully halted naval buildup and mitigated rising animosity. Yet the treaty did not resolve the root cause of conflict. Anglo-American reluctance to back the treaty with naval presence in the Pacific failed to check continued Japanese aggression and ultimately led to the tragedy at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.