By shifting from the military to the legal and economic aspects of this history, it can enrich our understanding of Washington’s maritime policy in Cold War East Asia. Thus, this chapter sketches out the interaction between the United States and its local partners in maritime East Asia, including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, from a non-military perspective. These local partners were sheltered under the military umbrella of its system of hub-and-spoke alliances formed by mutual defence treaties. However, between them, the historical twists and turns of sovereignty rendered the international politics of East Asia all but impenetrable. Because these countries are linked by the maritime space, a consideration of the demarcation of internationally accepted maritime boundaries and fishing zones, a matter bound up in issues of sovereignty and local interests that remained controversial over the course of two centuries, provides us with a historical lens through which to examine the political calculations of each American ally in maritime East Asia and how these influenced Washington’s deliberations as it designed its global maritime policies.

This chapter argues that US maritime policy was not limited to the construction of geostrategic space but also extended to the international political arena. The author analyses how the United Nations Conferences on the International Law of the Sea in 1958 and 1960, intended for legal discussion, became embroiled in the rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. The chapter explores how the United States sought a legal basis for its maritime dominance at these conferences and how its hub-and-spoke allies in East Asia responded to these efforts. Despite the support of its allies, the United States faced challenges in obtaining their backing in confronting Soviet challenges to the international law of the seas, due to issues of local sovereignty and interest. The author also examines the reasons behind Washington’s decision to change its stance on the breadth of territorial waters and how its East Asian allies responded to this shift. Overall, the chapter provides insight into the complex dynamics of US maritime policy in East Asia and its impact on international relations.