page_title: Foreign policy of the United States
section_title: Mutual defense agreements
hierarchical_section_title: Foreign policy of the United States / Military / Mutual defense agreements
caption_attribution_description: English: Military allies of the United States. &#160;&#160; NATO member states, including their colonies and overseas possessions, Compacts of Free Association &#160;&#160; Major non-NATO allies, plus Taiwan and Special Case: Panama &#160;&#160; Signatories of Partnership for Peace with NATO
context_page_description: The foreign policy of the United States is its interactions with foreign nations and how it sets standards of interaction for its organizations, corporations and system citizens of the United States.
  The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the Bureaus and Offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the Foreign Policy Agenda of the Department of State, are "to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community". In addition, the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs states as some of its jurisdictional goals: "export controls, including nonproliferation of nuclear technology and nuclear hardware; measures to foster commercial interaction with foreign nations and to safeguard American business abroad; international commodity agreements; international education; and protection of American citizens abroad and expatriation". U.S. foreign policy and foreign aid have been the subject of much debate, praise and criticism, both domestically and abroad.
context_section_description: The United States is a founding member of NATO, an alliance of 29 North American and European nations formed to defend Western Europe against the Soviet Union during the Cold War.  Under the NATO charter, the United States is compelled to defend any NATO state that is attacked by a foreign power.  The United States itself was the first country to invoke the mutual defense provisions of the alliance, in response to the September 11 attacks.
  The United States also has mutual military defense treaties with:
  Australia and New Zealand
  Japan
  South Korea
  Philippines
  Thailand, with other states formerly in the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
  Most countries in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean, through the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance
  The United States has responsibility for the defense of the three Compact of Free Association states: Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau.
caption: A map of allies of the United States
     NATO member states, including their colonies and overseas possessions   Major non-NATO allies, plus Republic of China (Taiwan)   Signatories of Partnership for Peace with NATO
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