CO129-571-7 Sino-Japanese War- bombardment of road from Anglo-Chinese border to Canton 9-1-1938 - 28-1-1938 — Page 20

Copy.

From

JAPAN.

HN- Canton

13

20

Decode and Decypher.

Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).

21st January, 1938.

21st January, 1938.

Do

7.40 p.m.

21st January, 1938.

R.

1.45 p.m.

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

and would take every possible precaution to this end. They

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 rail-

ways 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 these twolines by aerial bombardment might be issued

by His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires as in the case of Canton-

Kowloon motor road. (See your telegram No.53 to Shanghai)

(R) Ends.

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.

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