Foreign relations of the United States
Many have also joined the European Union and NATO, strengthening economic ties with the broader Western world and gaining the military protection of the United States via the North Atlantic Treaty.
The bulk of the US effort in support of consolidating democracy in Benin is focused on long-term human resource development through USAID programs.
At the same time, the United States is concerned about continuing human rights problems and the pace of progress toward the establishment of genuine political pluralism.
During the early years of the George W. Bush administration, relations improved under the rubric of the War on Terror, though Yemen's lack of policies toward wanted terrorists has stalled additional US support.
Relations improved slightly in the latter half of 2007, but the U.S.A. continues to call for Uzbekistan to meet all of its commitments under the March 2002 Declaration of Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
In 2021, the Taliban overthrew the U.S.-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan concurrent with the withdrawal of U.S. troops, leading to the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul to Doha, Qatar.
[192] On November 12, 2021, the U.S. announced that an interests section would open at the Embassy of Qatar in Kabul on December 31, to serve as the protecting power for the U.S. in Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has no protecting power in the U.S.[194][195][196] Today the relationship between the two countries is based on what is described by American diplomats as the "three Ds", meaning Democracy, Development and Denial of space for terrorism.
The United States is closely working with Bangladesh in combating Islamic extremism and terrorism and is providing hundreds of millions of dollars every year in economic assistance.
While the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with Bhutan, it maintains informal contact through its embassy in New Delhi, India.
At present, India and the US share an extensive and expanding cultural, strategic, military, and economic relationship[204][205][206][207][208] which is in the phase of implementing confidence building measures (CBM) to overcome the legacy of trust deficit – brought about by adversarial US foreign policies[209][210][211][212] and multiple instances of technology denial[213][214][215][216][217] – which have plagued the relationship over several decades.
[218][219] Unrealistic expectations after the conclusion of the 2008 India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement (which underestimated negative public opinion regarding the long-term viability of nuclear power generation and civil-society endorsement for contractual guarantees on safeguards and liability) has given way to pragmatic realism and refocus on areas of cooperation which enjoy favourable political and electoral consensus.
A great amount of trade between the two countries necessitates positive economic relations, although occasional disagreements over tariffs, currency exchange rates, intellectual property theft, and the political status of Taiwan occurs.
The United States has criticized China on such human rights issues as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the persecution of Falun Gong, and more recently the mass detaining of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang, as well the forced sinicization of Mongols and Tibetans.
[232] The U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Travel Act on February 28, 2018, and the bill was subsequently signed into federal law by President Donald Trump, formalizing high-level communications between Washington and Taipei as well as permitting intergovernmental contact at the highest level.
Under the terms of a September 2000 bilateral memorandum of understanding, Macau and the U.S. government cooperate in enforcing textile quotas and preventing illegal trans-shipment.
The relationship began in the 1850s, as the United States was a major factor in forcing Japan to resume contacts with the outer world beyond a very restricted role.
In the late 19th century, the Japanese sent many delegations to Europe, and some to the U.S., to discover and copy the latest technology and thereby modernize Japan very rapidly and allow it to build its own empire.
The U.S. Army under Douglas MacArthur occupied and ruled Japan, 1945–51, with the successful goal of sponsoring a peaceful, prosperous and democratic nation.
[245] Many countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are important partners for United States in both economic and geostrategic aspects.
In July 2009, the United States signed ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, which establishes guiding principles intended to build confidence among its signatories with the aim of maintaining regional peace and stability.
The United States and Malaysia share a strong military-to-military relationship with numerous exchanges, training, joint exercises, and visits.
[262] The first recorded advent of Filipinos in what is now the United States date to October 1587 around Morro Bay, California,[263] with the first permanent settlement in Louisiana in 1763,[264] they were named "Manilamen" and they served in the Battle of New Orleans during the closing stages of the War of 1812, when the British Empire and American Republic once again went to war against each other as Filipinos in Saint Malo supported the American side against the British Empire.
[266] July 4 was observed in the Philippines as Independence Day until August 4, 1964, when, upon the advice of historians and the urging of nationalists, President Diosdado Macapagal signed into law Republic Act No.
The United States and the Philippines conduct joint military exercises called the Balikatan that take place once a year to boost relations between the two countries.
After a 20-year hiatus of severed ties, President Bill Clinton announced the formal normalization of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on July 11, 1995.
Subsequent to President Clinton's normalization announcement, in August 1995, both nations upgraded their Liaison Offices opened during January 1995 to embassy status.
The relationship continued to evolve throughout the second half of the 20th century, and today now involves strong relationships at the executive and mid levels of government and the military, leading Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt M. Campbell to declare that "in the last ten years, [Australia] has ascended to one of the closest one or two allies [of the US] on the planet".
At the governmental level, United States-Australia relations are formalized by the ANZUS treaty and the Australia–United States Free Trade Agreement.
In 1978, Palau decided not to join the Federated States of Micronesia, due to culture and language differences, and instead sought independence.
