CO129-570-8 Sino-Japanese War- sinking of Chinese fishing boats by Japanese vessel 31-1-1938 - 22-12-1938 — Page 42

No. 119 (255/70D/1938)

BRITISH EMBASSY.

TOKYO.

42

15th August, 1958.

Your Excellency,

I have the honour to inform Your Excellency,

under instructions fræn His Majesty's Principal Secretary

of state for Foreign Affairs, that His Majesty's Govern-

ment in the United Kingdom have given further very full

consideration to the matter of the sinking of certain

fishing boats by a vessel of the Imperial Japanese Navy

to the south of Chelong Point on the 22nd September,

1937; and they regret that they are unable to accept

the version of the facts given in the memorandum of the

18th April last from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign

Affairs, as disposing of the findings of the Hongkong

Commission of Enquiry »

8.

Having regard to the nature of the weapons on

board the junks in question, lis kajesty's Government

consider that it is in the highest degree improbable

that the fishermen would have been so foolhardy as to

attack a Japanese war vessel. It would appear that a

serious breach of fundamental rules of war and of the

rules of conduct of operations against merchant ships

has been committed. His Majesty's Government must

therefore maintain their protest and ask that disciplinary

action may be taken against the Commander of the war

/vessel

His Excellency

General Kasushige Ugaki,

His Imperial Japanese Majesty's

Minister for Foreign Affairs,