Colonial Office F3747/26/10.
Qua
Copred! Admny. ref F3766/26/10 of 12th ama.)
50
MENDED COPY.
08 AUG1010
C. O. RECY
LIMITED DISTRIBUTION,
Decypher. Mr. Blunt, (Shanghai),
(Shanghal
7th August, 1940.
D.
6.55 p.m. R. 9.25 p.m.
8th August, 1940.
8th August, 1940.
No. 34.
53-
34
END
MYANMARIMUNO
Addressed to His Majesty's Ambassador Shanghai telegram No. 99 of August 7th. (Please repeat to Foreign Office and to Tokyo as my telegram No. 34), Governor of Hong Kong telegram No. 79 (please pass to Commodore as my telegram No. 27 and repeat to Commander-in-Chief as my telegram No. 32 and to Intelligence Centre, Singapore, unnumbered).
My telegram No, 96,
A letter from my Japanese colleague received yesterday states that the action of the Hong Kong Government "constitutes [?we interpret] an unwarrantable retaliatory action which I am afraid may be responded to from our side with action of retaliation,"
2. I took my written refutation of this charge yesterday afternoon to my Japanese colleague and gave him the formula for a settlement contained in paragraph 2 of my telegram under reference. He asked me to subsitute words "payment under protest to Japanese Consul-General" for "payment to me and I have encouraged this. practice it is identical with my formula but it is much more likely to be accepted by the Japanese.
In
3. Later last night he told me that the Japanese Navy would consult Japanese Army and give me a reply within 2 or 3 days, He thought that the formula might be accepted, if in addition igrp. undec.] would write letter stating in future they would show better co-operation with Japanese
Navy who produced 12 trifling [grp undec.] against British Company during my interviews with them.
4. I venture to suggest grp. ontd.] is of the simplest. The Japanese pilot service and pilot regulations are matters of internal Japanese administration and have not been concerned with Article 5 (E) of the agreement ?f] Joint Note 1939 (or of any extension of that agreement) which obliges the Japanese authorities to provide, and British Shipping Company to accept, a pilot on payment of "reasonable" fees, the amount of which must be obviously parallel to Litsung-Jens. I made this quite clear in my letter yesterday.
[Note by Communications Department 16th August:- Telegram originally received unnumbered and corrupt on August 8th].