(This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
(6091]
19607
[February 18.]
SECTION 4.
REC2
&
REG 16 JUN 11
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received February 18.)
Peking, February 18, 1911.
(No. 53.) (Telegraphic.) P.
BURMAH-YUNNAN frontier and Pienma expedition. With reference to your telegram No. 30 of the 16th instant, if any settlement of the question is to be effected here it is, in my opinion, essential that Hertz should remain where he is at present.
At an interview to-day I gave Nat'ung to understand that we were ready to begin. negotiations. I stated that until a basis was agreed upon it was quite useless to proceed with the work of delimitation and repeat the 1905 experiment. I suggested that the Chinese should accept the watershed along the whole line of the frontier as a basis for negotiation, adding that we should be prepared to consider equitably all Chinese claims to the west of it. These, I said, could be compensated either by a money payment or by territorial adjustment somewhere else on the frontier, if that were found to be feasible. His Excellency insisted that the troops should be withdrawn as a preliminary step to the negotiations and demurred to my proposal for a basis, advancing the old arguments in support of the Hsiao Chiang frontier.
Until the frontier basis was agreed upon I said I could not entertain the question of the withdrawal of troops. Ultimately Nat'ung agreed to take my proposal into consideration and to send me his reply.
[1909 8-4]
427