The Russo-Japanese War of 1904 was a European conflict fought because one country was becoming too strong. The conflict was fought primarily because two separate countries had their own special interests in Far Eastern countries such as Korea, China, and Manchuria. Great Britain and Japan recognized the independence of China and Korea, but at the same time authorized each other to intervene in both territories if their "special interests" were threatened by another power or internal unrest. That power was now Russia. There was already a rivalry between Britain and Russia over the Trans-Siberian railway, but now there was another dimension. Russia now had access to the Pacific. Its presence in Asia threatened already established British interests. China leased Port Arthur to Russia, ice-free, and allowed them to store their warships there. The two empires were on a collision course. Britain was very reluctant to engage in a distant threat of war, so it took a step to ally itself with the growing industrial power of Japan. Thus, Britain found its soldiers in the east. At that moment Russia failed to realize how powerful Britain and Japan had made themselves. Russia was unable to take Japan seriously, even though they had many reports of how large the Japanese naval and military forces were. Unfortunately, Russia's steady penetration into Korea and Manchuria continued unabated, despite the presence of numerous Japanese immigrants and traders. Russia had managed to replace the now defunct Chinese influence with its own. Russia now began to take control of the administrative departments and had the Korean Army train its officers to fight alongside it. In April, May, and June of 1903, the Russians had told the Japanese that they were moving out of China. They did not do so and continued to occupy the land. In July of the same year, the Japanese ambassador proposed that Russia and Japan recognize the independence of China and Korea. Both nations had to recognize preponderance, the Japanese in Korea balanced by the Russians in Manchuria. They had to recall their troops from their respective areas as soon as possible. In exchange, the Russians would protect the railways in Manchuria and the Japanese would do the same in Korea. The Japanese came to the attention that the Russians were building their naval and military forces in the Far East. They were also moving troops not only into Manchuria, but also into North Korea. It now became obvious to the Japanese that the Russians had no intention of relinquishing their hold on Manchuria and Korea. Nonetheless, the negotiations continued. On February 10, 1904, both nations produced formal declarations of war. On February 8, a large part of the Russian Pacific Squadron dropped anchor at