[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
154
114
FRANCE.
(2 7614/130/10)
Cypher telegram to 3ir 3. Phipps (Paris)
Foreign Office, 12th October 1937, 11.30 p.m.
No. 200.
Your telegram 596 Saving (or October 8:
arus for China through Indo-China].
supply of
French fears appear to us to be somewhat exaggerated.
The vulnerability of French railways is much less than that
of Canton-Kowloon railway, one of them crossing the frontier
some 200 miles from Hainan und 700 from Paracels while
the other crosses some 180 miles further inland. So long as
transit through Hongkong is permitted surely the French have
little excuse for not keeping their lines open?
We obviously do not want consiments which would
normally be carried via French lines to be diverted via
Hongkong. nd we do not want the French to do anything
which will lead to a Japanese occupation of Hainan which
would be as much to our disadvantage as to theirs. But
I do think that you should endeavour to persuade them to
be a little less ready to meet a Japanese request which
appears to us to be both unreasonable and unjustifiable so
long as an embargo is not placed on the export of arms and var
material to both sides.
Please make representations accoruingly and at the same time endeavour to ascertain what exactly M. Léger meant when
he said he would see to it that China government got far
larger quantities of arms and munitions then Japan.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.