CO129-567-4 Traffic of arms to China and Japanese air-raids on Kowloon-Canton railway 3-1-1938 - 3-5-1938 — Page 231

[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.]

232

From JAPAN.

Decode and Decypher.

Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).

21st January, 1938.

21st Junuary, 1938.

D.

7.40 p.m.

21st January, 1938.

R.

1.45 p..

No. 82.

(R) Begins.

Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs informed me to-day that, as it was now vitally necessary for Japan to stop transit of munitions along Canton-Hankow and Canton-Kowloon Railways, an intensive aerial bombardment of these lines would

be necessary.

Naval authorities were most anxious to avoid the possibility of further incidents involving British subjects

They and would take every possible precaution to this end. accordingly enquire whether they might be notified in advance whenever it was intended that British subjects should make use of either of these railways. I pointed out the difficulty of notifying Japanese authorities whenever individual British subjects intended to travel on these railways though I admitted that we had in the past notified Japanese authorities when parties containing British subjects had travelled over

these lines.

I suggested that a notice of intention of Japanese forces to cut theses two lines by aerial bombardment might be issued by His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires as in the case of Canton-

Kowloon motor road. (R) Ends.

(See your telegram No. 53 to Shanghai)

It will be appreciated that should aerial bombardment fail to arrest transit of munitions over these railways the chance of a Japanese landing to effect this purpose would be increased.