The Washington Naval Conference 1921

The Washington Conference or the Washington Naval Conference 1921 is one of the crucial turns in the history of disarmament. This conference was conducted in Washington DC and nine nations attended including the USA attended. The prime point of discussion and negotiation was the interests in East Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Germany was not included in this conference as it has already signed the Treaty of Versailles. The Soviet Union was also not invited to this first arms control conference conducted that paved the way for further developments.

What is Washington Naval Conference 1921 - 1922?

Washington Conference was held on 12th November 1921 and is the first of its kind that led to the foundation of arms disarmament among the leading nations. It was held at the Memorial Continental Hall located in Downtown Washington, the USA. Eventually, this conference led to the foundation and signing of three treaties along with a list of smaller agreements among different nations. All these treaties were signed with appropriate measures to maintain peace among the fighting nations but eventually fell apart due to the increasing hostility during the Great Depression.

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The International Conference of Naval Limitation or the Naval Conference 1921 is the foundation of different treaties signed by the participating nations. The prime aim of this conference was to limit the naval drills and arms race in the Pacific Ocean and the regions of East Asia between the nations that fought each other in World War I. It was conducted in Washington DC where the drafting of minor and major treaties took place. Here is the list of Washington Conference treaties and facts you need to know.

• The Four-Power Pact

This significant pact was signed by four major nations which are Japan, Great Britain, the United States, and France on 13th December 1921. The clauses in the pact mentioned that all the signatories will have to be consulted when any Pacific-related issue emerges thereafter. If any two of the signatories are involved in the issues, everyone has to be consulted to resolve them.

The other clauses suggest that every signatory will have to respect each other’s rights and peace and will not indulge in hostile activities. The Pacific islands under the possession of these four nations will remain in their hands and will not be interfered with by the rest. The three powerful nations Japan, the USA, and Great Britain will clash if peace is not maintained during this stressful time.

• The Five Power Naval Limitation Treaty

Another significant outcome of the Washington Naval Conference is this treaty signed by Great Britain, France, Japan, the USA, and Italy. It was signed on 6th February 1922. Charles Evans Hughes, the contemporary US Secretary of State, proposed to scrap 1.9 million tons of warships of the great powers signing this treaty.

This was a bold step that the signatories took for disarmament and was enacted in a different form modified. The number of capital ships possessed by the contracting nations was calculated along with the guns, caliber, capital ships, etc. These aircraft carriers and battleships were scrapped to stop the arms war in the Pacific region after the end of World War I. This outcome of the Naval Conference 1921 resulted in scrapping 24 British, 26 American, and 16 Japanese battleships and aircraft carriers that were under construction or built.

The nations also agreed to postpone the development of such battleships for the next ten years. The three biggest signatories Japan, the United States, and Great Britain agreed to maintain this status regarding fortification of their respective naval bases in the eastern region of the Pacific Ocean. This treaty remained effective till 1936 when Japan’s demand for maintaining the same naval volume matching the USA and Great Britain was rejected.  

• The Nine Power Treaty

This is the final treaty as per the Washington Conference treaties and facts where the nine signatories that are the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy, Belgium, Japan, France, the Netherlands, China, and Portugal will maintain the territorial dignity and integrity of China at all costs. This treaty presented the dominance of Japan on Manchuria and recognized it. The rest of the nations will maintain equality in seeking opportunities to do business and trade.

Any event of issues and violation of the clauses mentioned in the treaty will be discussed between all the signatories. Due to improper enforcement of the clauses, this treaty fell apart and all the nations did not abide by the terms.

There were several bilateral agreements and treaties signed among the countries for maintaining peace and returning the control taken over during World War I. Japan agreed to withdraw from Siberia and gave back Shandong to China. There were significant developments resulting from the Washington Naval Conference 1921.

Washington Naval Conference significance

This conference is considered to be the first disarmament move taken by the leading powers after World War I. The post-World War era was very hard for the nations to survive and all wanted to discontinue the arms race in the Pacific region to avoid future tussles. The treaties and agreements signed at this conference fell apart due to a lack of proper implementations.