1940-02-07 — Page 7

THE CHINA MAIL, FEBRUARY 7, 1940

Virtual Settlement Of The "Asama Maru" Incident

IDENTICAL STATEMENTS IN LORDS & COMMONS

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London, To-day.

IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS yesterday, Lord Halifax, Foreign Secretary, spoke about the so-called Asama Maru “incident.' Replying to Lord'Snell, he reminded the House that the Japanese Foreign Minister had made a state- ment to the Japanese House of Peers earlier yesterday on the same subject.

Lord Halifax said that the corres- pondence between the two countries would be laid before the House.

tral shipping at sea. Exercise of this right does not, in the view of the British Government, imply any slight upon the honour or national dignity of the neutral state involved and this has been amply demonstrated in the present and preceding wars."

BELGIUM ARRESTS SPIES

(SPECIAL TO "CHINA MAIL")

Amsterdam, To-day.

Two foreigners of unknown na- tionality were arrested for spying at Roosendaal, near the Belgian border.

It is understood that they were connected with the espionage case uncovered in Nijmegen last week. Havax.

present case do not fall within the categories in question. This is ac- cordingly the only legal issue be- tween the two Governments to which the present case gives rise."

the destruction of their boat by Ger- man forces, although the fact that the men concerned were engaged in in- nocent fishing is sufficient evidence that they were not on their way to join the armed forces.

The Imperial Japanese Government will not expect the British Govern- ment to be bound by a supposed rule which is denied and disregarded by the enemy."

legal

shipping shipping

SUBMARINE WARFARE general Having argued the position and explained that of the par- ticular Germans concerned, the Note declares: "Since the outbreak of war not only British lives and but also neutral lives and have been lost as a result restricted submarine warfare by Ger- many which was carried out in 'viola- tion of international law and agree- ments to which she is a party and with a total disregard of the dictates of humanity.

of

un-

The British Government are deter- mined to put an end to this method of warfare by means at their disposal To the examination of this issue al- It had been found on investigation

most the whole of the rest of the and they could not reconcile it with that some of the men removed from

Note is devoted.

their obligations to their own country- It is pointed out the Asama Maru are relatively un-

that in handing the original memor-

men, to say nothing of neutral inter- suitable for military service, and al-

andum to the British Ambassador,ests, to risk innocent lives and ship- though reserving all legal rights, His The Note recites the facts of the the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs ping by allowing personnel to reach Majesty's Government are prepared case, pointing out that the British

stated that Article Forty-seven of the Germany which can be employed to to release nine of the men, who will Government were aware of the or-Declaration of London constituted the perpetuate this menace."

JAPANESE REPLY be handed over to the appropriate | ganised attempt by the German Gov-basis of the Japanese arguments, and Japanese authorities in due course. ernment to secure the return of Ger- the Note declares:

Lord Halifax told the House that man mercantile marine officers and

"The Declaration of London, never the

Japanese, for their part, have men from America, So anxious were instructed their shipping lines to re- the German Government to

having come into force, is not bind-

fuse to carry

belligerent nationals the services of these men that theying on any State and cannot be re- who might enlist for military service.

being despatched by the long lied on against the British Govern- This would

prevent a repetition of expensive route across the Pacific via ment as authority." the Asama Maru incident.-Reuter.

Japan and Siberia.

WHITE PAPER ON CORRESPONDENCE

London, To-day. The correspondence between the British and Japanese Governments on the removal of German citizens from the Asama Maru was issued as a White Paper last evening.

The correspondence ends with a British communication in which, as announced by Lord Halifax and the Prime Minister in Parliament, Britain stated that while reserving all their legal rights they are prepared to re- lease nine out of the 21 men removed from the Asama Maru.

were

SPECIALISTS INVOLVED

obtain

It would not be suggested, the Note urges, that as almost the entire Ger- man mercantile marine is laid up in port the German Government would have devoted part of their scanty sup- plies of foreign exchange to so ex- pensive an operation if the object were not to enable the services of the men to be employed

military for operations, and later in the Note the fact is brought out that some of the Germans in question formed part of the engineroom staffs of tankers and their special knowledge of Diesel en- it practically certain gines rendered

that they were intended to be em- ployed on their return for submarine service.

NOT THE ORIGIN

1 Mr. Arita replied on February expressing great pleasure at the re- gret expressed in the preceding Bri- tish Note at the profound resentment aroused in Japan by the incident, but stating he held fundamentally differ- ent opinions from the British Gov- ernment on the legal arguments. In any case Article 47 of this De-

In contradiction to the British con- of the

tention he enunciated the view of the claration is not the origin right to remove enemy nationals from Imperial Government that "the re- neutral ships since there existed for moval of enemy nationals from neu- centuries such a practice, which be-tral ships engaged on peaceful traffic came subject to qualifying limitation by treaty provision. Such qualifica- tion, dating from the early seventeenth to mid-nineteenth centuries, sought to limit the removal to "military persons service and others effectively in the of the enemy," but the definition-is- obviously inapplicable under modern conditions.

The right would become illusory If it did not cover individuals who, though not on the peacetime mili. tary strength, are under legal ila- bility to take a place in the enemy ranks,

actually

|

on the high seas essentially has been regarded as illegal in international law in general."

The Japanese Government also con- based tested the British arguments on the German prize rules.

-BRITISH-POSITION-

In Sir R. Craigie's reply of Febru- ary 5, announcing willingness to re- lease nine of the men seized who, on examination, had been found relative- ly unsuitable for military service, the Ambassador states the inability of the British Government to accept the validity of the Japanese legal argu- ments and affirms that the British Government consider themselves fully entitled under international law to re-

He further move the 21 men. serves the right of reply to Mr. Arita's Note in due course.-British Wireless.

In its first communication, handed

The British Government were to the British Ambassador, Sir Robert Craigie, on January 22 following the aware of at least four

The latter are precisely the persons parties or incident, the Japanese Government these men who were due to leave likely to be travelling on neutral ships It cannot be seri- maintained that the universally re-

America almost simultaneously, of in time of war. cognised usage was that a belligerent which the first party of about fifty ously contended that the mere fact power could demand on the high sailed on the Asama Maru. Of the that such persons had not seas only those subjects of another fifty, thirteen officers and eight tech-joined the corps to which they were belligerent who were actually em- nical ratings were removed by a Bri- to belong carries the conclusion that bodied in the armed forces. The tish man-of-war, the remainder, they are not in the military service Japanese Government stated they though trained seamen but without of the enemy, and the suggestion that

of INSPECTION TOUR ON could not but regard the British ac- special qualifications, being allowed they are not within the category tion as a serious and unfriendly act to proceed.

persons who may be removed from a neutral ship seems to result entirely

GOLD COAST against Japan.

BRITISH REPLY

"It is this action of which the Im-from the interpretation which The British Government replied in perial Japanese Government contest been placed in some quarters on the a Note from Sir R. Craigie to Mr. the legality. They do not, as the terms of Article Fortyseven of Arita dated January 27, in which they British Government understand the Declaration of London which, as al- said: "The British Government pro- position, dispute the legitimacy of the ready argued, is not a binding foundly regret the interpretation put exercise of the right of visit and thority. on their action by the Imperial Ja- search by a belligerent warship on panese Government and avail them- the high seas. They do not dispute selves of this opportunity to state that that certain categories of enemy na- there is no unfriendly action whatso- tionals may legitimately be removed ever in the exercise of their right' as from a neutral vessel but they con- a belligerent to stop and search neu-tend that the persons removed in the

ONLY LEGAL ISSUE

has

the

Accra, To-day. Sir Arnold Weinholt Hodson, Gov- ernor of the Gold Coast, has just com- au-pleted a 9-day tour of inspection of the southern section of Togoland, which is under a British mandate.

He received many loyal demonstra- chiefs and peoples en tions from

Note

GERMAN CLAIM

the The British contention, says, is strongly supported by prac- tice in the 1914-18 war.

After showing that it is clear from Article 77 of the German Prize Or- dinance that the German Government regard persons who "are making voyage in order to put themselves in

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as in precisely the same position as "members of the enemy, armed for- ces," the British Note proceeds: "The Imperial Japanese Government take the contrary view about the Germans now in question, and they are mak- ing a claim which the German Gov- ernment could not make for them selves. The Imperial Japanese Gov-. ernment can hardly expect · such claim to be admitted by the British Government in the existing circum- stances. I may add that the practice of the German Government in the present war has gone even beyond the provisions of their Prize Ordin- ance. Not only have they removed Poles of military age from neutral, vessels in the Baltic but they have. removed from a Swedish ship an still hold in captivity British fisher men who had been picked "up" kiter:

route. Reuter.

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