The 1921 Imperial Conference exposed competing Dominion security interests. Billy Hughes and William Massey wanted to retain a proven ally in Japan and doubted that an inward-looking United States would be a dependable Pacific partner. Arthur Meighen represented Canada's concern that the Anglo-Japanese Alliance could pull it into a Japanese-American war in which the United States threatened Canadian security. The dispute helped allow the alliance to expire and fed directly into the search for a Far East fleet base. Dominion governments could materially shape imperial defence.
Chapter · 20:20-24:00
Dominion politics reshaped Britain's Pacific alignment
The 1921 Imperial Conference reveals why Canada opposed the Anglo-Japanese Alliance while Australia and New Zealand valued Japan as a more dependable Pacific partner than the United States.