On February 28, 2007, Christopher Griffin made the following presentation at the International Studies Association 48th Annual Convention in Chicago.

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I am delighted to have this opportunity to join a panel of such eminent speakers on the topic of the U.S.-Japanese alliance and share my views on both how the alliance will evolve and what it means for American interests in the region. I will start with a short historical overview of how the bilateral relationship has affected the American role in Asia before giving some more pointed comments on recent developments.

American interests in Asia have expanded over a century and a half of deepening relations. Matthew Perry’s arrival in Yokohama Bay announced Washington’s claim to economic rights, roughly comprising access to Asian markets, safety for U.S. citizens in the region, and open sea lanes to guarantee untrammeled trade and Asia. Following the American occupation of the Philippines in 1898, American policymakers placed a new emphasis on security concerns, an interest largely captured by the creation of the Washington Treaty system in 1922. Following the Second World War, the ever more compounded U.S. commitment to Asia transformed into the “hub-and-spoke” system of bilateral treaties with Japan, South Korea, and others. This set of treaties commitments in the face of the Soviet Union has provided for over half a century of peace in Northeast Asia--the so-called “Pax Americana.”. . . 

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Christopher Griffin is a research associate at AEI.