[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
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24838
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
R12 AUG 10
[July 25.]
SECTION 2.
CONFIDENTIAL.
{25315]
No. 1.
Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Max Müller.
(No. 254. Confidential.) Sir,
Foreign Office, July 25, 1910. WITH reference to my telegram No. 108 of to-day's date, I transmit to you herewith a copy of a letter from the India Office regarding the measures which are thought necessary for the assertion of British claims on the Pien Ma section of the Sino-Burmese frontier.*
His Majesty's Government are persuaded that the watershed frontier is the only one which affords any hope of finality, and they have decided, with a view to enforcing the policy laid down in 1906, and to extending effective administration over the whole tract to the west of the watershed, to despatch such an expedition as that described in the Governor of Burmalı's letter of the 10th May into the district as soon as practicable after the cessation of the rains, to restore the status quo, and to remove from British territory, as defined by us, any opposing forces or intruders who can be removed without serious difficulty.
On the question of warning the Chinese Government, I approve of the views expressed in your despatch No. 196 of the 15th June last, and, in view of what has passed previously, it appears to be unnecessary to make any communication at present to the Chinese Government. It will be time enough to inform them when the expedition is about to start.
* India Office, July 12, 1910.
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I am, &c.
E. GREY.
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