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Code and Cypher telegram to Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).
Foreign Office. 30th October, 1938. 11.45 p.m.
No. 706.
IMMEDIATE.
"R" begins:
Canton telegram to you No. 41 and S.N.O's
West River's telegram No. 1226/30 to Commander-in-Chief.
As I think was made clear in my telegram No. 689
we cannot admit right of Japanese to interfere with movements of His Majesty's Ships nor to obstruct movements of British merchant shipping. With reference to the note which you will have addressed to them on receipt of my telegram under reference you should immediately protest to Japanese against unwarrantable interference with movements of H.M.S. "Robin" and "Cicala" and request them at once to instruct local Japanese naval authorities to place no further obstacles in the way of the free movement of the se vessels. In order to allow time for these instructions to reach the Japanese authorities, H.M.S. have been told to suspend for twenty-four hours only movements they were instructed to make tomoorow (31st). You may at your discretion add that although as a matter of courtesy and without admitting any obligation to do so we have given Japanese naval authorities prior notice of movements of H.M.S. in waters in question, we cannot
reasonably