1
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
269
FAR EASTERN (CHINA).
CONFIDENTIAL.
January 26, 1939.
SECTION 1.
[F 925/87/10]
Viscount Halifax to Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).
Copy No. 129
(No. 61.) Sir,
Foreign Office, January 26, 1939. THE Japanese Ambassador called to see me yesterday, and began by reading to me a memorandum that he had drawn up for his own guidance, conveying a formal complaint as to the treatment of Japanese nationals in Singapore. I told the Ambassador that I had no information about the subject matter of his complaint, but I would lose no time in having it enquired into. I did not believe that any action would have been taken against Japanese nationals in Singapore without good reason, and ventured to remind his Excellency that we, on the other hand, had felt obliged to lodge a series of complaints as to the treatment of our nationals and our national interests by the Japanese in China, in regard to which we had received very scant satisfaction.
2. The Ambassador replied that he certainly felt that many of the complaints which we had made ought to be met and hoped this would shortly be done. But meanwhile it was impossible to ignore the fact that British policy presented itself to Japanese eyes in a very unfavourable light. Our note had caused a good deal of resentment; we had identified ourselves with what seemed to Japan to be anti-Japanese and pro-Chinese action at Brussels and Geneva, and had been at no pains to conceal our sympathy to China. To this I replied that, as regards our note, it had seemed to us desirable to leave the Japanese Govern- ment in no doubt as to how we viewed the attitude that they had adopted affecting, as it so clearly did, legitimate British interests in China. We had, however, been careful to say that, while protesting against any attempt to make forcible modification of treaties, we did not in any way contend that treaties were immutable and were always prepared to consider revision of them by due course of negotiation. To this the Ambassador made a general, and to me somewhat obscure, reply in the sense of saying that a legal argument might be advanced against the validity of the Nine-Power Treaty; but the ground of his argument was by no means clear, and I contented myself by saying that I found it difficult to imagine of what such legal argument might consist, but that no doubt if there was such a case to be made, his Government would have the opportunity of making it, when they replied to our note.
3. As regards the action with which we had been associated at Brussels and Geneva, I told the Ambassador that, as he would be well aware, Great Britain could take no other view than that Japan had committed, and was in continuous process of committing, an act of definite aggression on China, in the course of which great damage had been inflicted on British interests. These interests we were fully entitled to protect to the utmost of our ability, and we intended to do so. Any action that we might have taken or might at any future time take in China would be principally directed to this purpose, which I had no doubt the Ambassador would consider one for which it was perfectly proper for us to have regard. If the Japanese Government on their side were disposed to complain that we had afforded help to China, I had no doubt that the Ambassador would appreciate that the principal complaint advanced against us in this country was that we had almost completely failed to give China any direct measure of assistance, such as might have been held to be incumbent upon us under the resolutions to which he had referred. His Excellency said that he fully appreciated the force of what I had said and understood the British point of view. He thought, however, that there were misunderstandings on both sides which might well be removed by frank discussion, and deprecated such reference as from time to time appeared in the press to possible reprisals by the British Government against his country.
4. On this point I was able to assure his Excellency that I was confident such talk would be greatly diminished. if not entirely dissipated, if the Japanese
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