This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
THIBET AND MONGOLIA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[234952]
No. 1.
Foreign Office to India Office.
[December 21.]
SECTION 1.
Sir,
Foreign Office, December 21, 1917. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Balfour to acknowledge the receipt of Foreign Office letter of the 11th instant regarding the situation in Thibet and to reply as follows to the points raised therein :-
1. The supply of rifle ammunition to the Thibetans.
While it will have been observed from Foreign Office letter of the 8th December that the Chinese are already aware of the supply of arms to the Thibetans by the Government of India, no protest has been made up to the present. Should one be made in the future, His Majesty's Government will be able to reply that gifts of munitions to the Thibetans have been necessary in order to enable the latter to combat the constant acts of aggression to which they have been exposed by the Chinese frontier forces. In these circumstances Mr. Balfour sees no objection to the free gift of 500,000 rounds of rite ammunition to the Thibetan Government.
2. The question of a protest to the Chinese Government against an alleged act of aggression by Chinese soldiers from Reinoche.
The Viceroy's telegram in which this alleged act of aggression was reported was repeated to His Majesty's Minister in Peking, and it is considered desirable to leave the question of a protest to his discretion. It will be seen from the succeeding paragraph that Sir J. Joidan appears to consider the moment inopportune for raising the Tiibetan question in any form.
3. The general question of negotiating a revision of the Tripartite Convention
of 1914.
I am to enclose copy of a telegram* from His Majesty's Minister in Peking, from which it is clear that he does not consider the moment propitious for reopening this question with the Chinese Government. In view of the fact that the two fr ntier provinces of Szechuen and Yünnon are not only in a disturbed condition, but are practically independent of the Chinese Central Government, and would in all probability refuse to be bound by any agreement into which that authority might enter, Mr. Balfour concurs in Sir J. Jordan's view that the initiation of negotiations at Peking would serve no useful purpose. He observes, however, the desire of the Secretary of State for India to take the preliminary step of sounding the l'hibetan Government as to their views on the proposed revised terms of agreement, and to the adoption of such a measure he sees no objection.
4. The establishment of a permanent representation at Lhassa
Mr. Balfour is of opinion that it would be unwise for His Majesty's Government to press for representation at Lhassa, which could only be done by ignoring Russia. It is. true that for the moment the Russian Government have ceased to exist, but this would nct appear to justify action based on the assumption that all existing international arrangements with Russia had lapsed. Moreover, such actin would, it is considered, give future Russian Government the right to ignore the arrangement regarding Afghanistan a contingency of which the disadvantages would far outweigh any advantage obtained by His Majesty's Government in Thibet.
I am, &c.
any
W. LANGLEY.
* No. 598, December 12, 1917,
[2760 x- 1]
184