77
~3-
available, i. e. such of His Majesty's military and naval forces as are at any time available for service
in China.
This
2. The force to be employed must be commensurate with the purpose which it is desired to achieve.
condition
applies equally to the exertion demanded of
His Majesty's forces and to the injury or loss in-
flicted on the Chinese.
3. There must be reasonable assurance that the
measures to be teken will prove effective, within a reasonable period, that they will not involve the lock up of the forces for en indefinite time and that they
will not lead to further and unknown commitments.
I should add that His Majesty's Government would require very strong arguments to induce them to embark on a policy based on coercive action without the active
co-operation or at least the open support and approval
of other interested Powers, notably Japan and the
United States of America.
The result of recent instances of proposed united
coercive action have shown how little support His
Majesty's Government could expect to receive from other
interested Powers in the adoption, for any purpose other
than that of protection of actual life, of such a line
of action.
It is true that your United States and Japanese
colleagues have at times led you to believe that their
governments might be induced to accept their own views
in ...
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.