Root-Takahira Agreement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Root-Takahira Agreement (高平ルート協定 Takahira-Rūto Kyotei?) was an agreement between the United States of America and the Empire of Japan negotiated between U.S. Secretary of State Elihu Root and Japanese ambassador Takahira Kogoro.
Signed on 30 November 1908, the agreement consisted of an official recognition of the territorial status quo as of November 1908, affirmation of the independence and territorial integrity of China (i.e. the “Open Door Policy" as proposed by John Hay), maintenance of free trade and equal commercial opportunities, Japanese recognition of the American annexation of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the Philippines and American recognition of Japan’s position in Manchuria. Implicit in the agreement was American acknowledgement of Japan's right to annex Korea and dominance over southern Manchuria.
With the conclusion of the Spanish-American War, the United States had become a major power in East Asia. The US occupation of Hawaii and the Philippines, combined with aggressive economic policies in China were increasingly perceived as a threat by the Japanese government. The American government, on the other hand, was increasingly concerned by Japanese ambitions towards territorial gain at the expense of China, and with Japan's increasingly modern and powerful navy in the aftermath of the Russo-Japanese War.
The Agreement is credited with averting mounting tensions between the United States and Japan.
[edit] References
- Faragher, John M.: Out of Many, Prentice Hall: New Jersey, 2003.
