The 'Limitation of Naval Armament' included many separate treaties. In general, the treaties invloved the
United States,
United Kingdom,
Japan, and
France.
One of the treaties, known as the
Four Power Act, provided that the US, UK, Japan and France would help maintain peace in the
Pacific Ocean, while another, the
Five Power Treaty, stipulated that the US, UK and Japan would build ships in a 5:5:3 ratio. This was originally proposed by
US Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, and was rejected by the Japanese. Tokyo agreed, however, when a provision was added forbidding the US and UK to fortify their Pacific island possesions, but allowed Japan to do so. A third treaty, the
Nine Power Treaty, emphasized maintaining an
Open Door Policy in
China.
The treaties came into effect as the result of the
Washington Disarmament Conference, held by the US in 1921-22. All the major world naval powers were invited with the sole exception of
Russia, which, under the
Bolshevik regime, the US did not officially recognize.
External links
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Australian Treaty Series No. 15: Treaty for the Limitation of Naval Armament, Protocol of Signature, and Additional Protocol