SECRET - UK EYES ONLY
38. The United States position on the subject was made clear in December 1971 when a British Embassy official went to see the State Department Geographer. The Geographer stated that the United States recognised no claims to the Spratlys and held that sovereignty over them was undetermined. The United States had no claim but was reluctant to see the question of sovereignty pre-empted while there was still a possibility of the establishment of a sensible regime for the area. A United States memorandum entitled "South China Sea: Up for Grabs" was also handed over. This continues to distinguish between the area of the Spratly Islands (1) and Dangerous Ground, though it notes the Chinese claim to both areas.
39.
Britain. In drafting the following paragraphs on the British claim, no documents earlier than the Law Officers' memorandum of 1932 have been consulted, There are so many documents covering the 1930's, that it cannot be claimed that all have been studied.
40. The question of the status of the British claim to Spratly Island and Amboyna Cay (see paras 42-48) has arisen on various occasions. In the early 1930's the British Government were concerned with the French claim in case for strategic reasons, they wished to pursue their claim to the two named islands or to lay claim to the islets and reefs in the "Dangerous Area" which was regarded as a no-mans-land. As the 1930's drew on she sought to cooperate with the French Government in order to maintain a strong posture against the Japanese reoccupation and (later) annexation of the islands. During the post-war period she was interested in ensuring that a reference to the renunciation of the islands (which would include Spratly Island and Amboyna Cay) was put into the Japanese Peace Treaty of 1951. The question came up twice during the 1950's: first when the US Government asked for British views in 1955; and secondly when a number of countries made claims to the area or parts of the area in 1956.
41. This paper concentrates on how the British Government have regarded their claim since the 1932 memorandum was submitted rather than on the substance of the claim, and brings out in particular the opinions of the Legal Advisers on the question (the last minute on the question, before 1971, appears to have been in 1955). The following paragraphs thus give a short survey of the documents with particular reference to legal views on the
(1) The memorandum states: "Generally the Spratlys are delimited as extending from Amboyna Cay (7°52'N., 112°55'E.) on the South to North Danger (11927'N., 114°21'E.) on the north. Some of the more important features of the Spratlys are: Amboyna Cay, Tizard Bank (Itu Aba and Namyit Islands and Sand Cay), Loaita Bank (Loaita Island and Lankian Cay), Thitu Reef (Thitu Island), and North Danger (North East and South West Cays)." This corresponds more or less with the French claim.
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SECRET UK EYES ONLY