[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
64
From JAPAN.
Decypher. Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).
3rd November, 1938.
D.
1.15 p.m.
4th November, 1938.
R. 9.30 a.m.
4th November, 1938.
No. 1306.
My telegram 1257.
My French colleague informed me yesterday of what passed at
his recent interview with Prince Konoye in regard to passage of
arms across Indo-Chinese frontier. When the Prime Minister
mentioned that Japanese Government must reserve right to take appropriate action for their own defence if passage of arms continued my colleague naturally enquired what steps were contemplated. To
this the Prime Minister replied that Japanese Government felt so sure
that French Government would give favourable reply that they had not even worked out any plans. My colleague took his usual line of pointing out that Japanese Government had hitherto not been able to produce a single concrete instance to show that arms were in fact passing frontier in defiance of French Government prohibition.
I said I realised that original French notification in regard to
prohibition of export from Indo-China had been made with an eye on
Hainan but that I doubted whether such accommodation would in fact
deter the Japanese army and navy from taking any action in these
regions which they thought fit. Meanwhile pending opening of Burma road Indo-China seemed to be the last channel (apart from Russia) through which Chinese could hope to depend for maintenance of their resistance. My colleague however expressed considerable doubt whether Chinese could now continue any resistance worthy of the name
even if they were to receive supplies of munitions through Indo- China and Burma.
I do not know whether you will feel disposed to stiffen French attitude in the matter but in view of present overbearing attitude of Japanese I feel that too accommodating an answer would be unfortunate.
Addressed to Foreign Office telegram 1306 November 3rd; repeated to Shanghai No. 1066.