Historical Dictionary of United States-Japan ... - Bakumatsu Films

220 • RUSSO–JAPANESE WAR
Japanese in Manchuria. Insofar as the Root–Takahira Agreement
was concluded against the backdrop of the fait accompli of Japanese
expansion into Manchuria, it represented an attempt to maintain
the status quo in both the Pacific and in China.
RUSSO–JAPANESE WAR (1904–1905). The Russo–Japanese War
opened on 8 February 1904 when Japan launched a surprise attack
against Russian naval forces at Port Arthur. Over the ensuing months,
Russian forces were driven from Port Arthur and, in March 2005, from
the Manchurian city of Mukden. Fighting effectively ended when, in
May 1905, the Japanese navy annihilated Russia’s Baltic Fleet in the
Straits of Tsushima.
The war was directly attributable to the two nations’ competing
ambitions in Manchuria and Korea. The Russians had signaled their
intentions in the aftermath of the Boxer Uprising of 1900 when they
refused to withdraw their troops from Manchuria. They also sought
to expand their influence on the Korean peninsula. For their part,
Japanese governing circles were convinced that a foreign-dominated
Korea would prove to be a dagger pointed at the heart of their nation.
From July 1903, the two nations sought to negotiate their differences
but these negotiations ended in naught.
The Russo–Japanese War carried with it obvious implications for
Japanese–American relations. After all, United States President
Theodore Roosevelt sponsored the Portsmouth Treaty (which
formally ended the hostilities). Washington’s policy toward the region
had hitherto rested on the twin assumptions of, first, the defense
of the Philippines, and second, the promotion of trade in
China (Open Door). Because Russia had positioned itself contrary
to the Open Door, Washington welcomed Japan’s victories in the
Russo–Japanese War. At the same time, however, Japan’s victories
raised new questions. What was the extent of its own imperialist
ambitions? Was it committed to the Open Door? Might it attack the
Philippines? Could the United States defend the Philippines against
Japanese attack? President Roosevelt grappled with all these issues
both during and after the Russo–Japanese War, and his response can
be seen in such diplomatic agreements as the Taft–Katsura Agreement,
the Gentlemen’s Agreement, and the Root–Takahira
Agreement.