CO129-575-15 Traffic of arms to China 24-1-1939 - 4-12-1939 — Page 104

Copy.

(F 10734/28/10)

EMBASSY OF THE

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

London, October 2, 1939.

101

My dear Nigel,

(net)

I refer to your letter, No.F 10102/28/10 of

September 13th and to Ashley Clarke's letter, No.P 10283/28/10

of September 23rd, regarding the oral inquiry I made of you on September 11th as to the shipment of arms from the United

States to China via French Indo China and Burma. The

assurances contained in Clarke's letter of 3eptember 23rd

were, of course, communicated to my Government and the Embassy has received a reply in the following sense:

In view of the acsurances received from the

Foreign office, the Department of State is instructing Collectors of Customs to permit the departure of ship- mente of arms consigned to the Government of China

via Rangoon which have been held at ports of exit.

The Department is also resuming the issuance of licenses

authorizing such shipments. The Department has noted

that the assurances given in Clarke's letter referred specifically to shipments destined to the Chinese

Government, and observes that licenses are occasionally applied for to authorize the shipment of small quantities of small arms and small arms ammunition consigned to the Shanghai International Settlement municipal police for its own use and that such shipments are frequently routed via Hong Kong. It is also stated that shipments of arms from the United States to Thailand are without excention transshipped at Singapore.

Nigel B. Ronald, Esq.,

Foreign office,

S.W.1.

The