CO129-578-12 Sino-Japanese War- attacks on shipping 10-1-1939 - 17-11-1939 — Page 79

No. 73 (12/72)(1)/1959)

s xcellency,

Your Excellency,

BMITI 21 BABA JJY,

TOKYO.

14th April, 1939.

79

As Your Excellency will be aware I had

the bonour on a number of occasions last year to draw

the attention of the Imperial Japenese Government to

10 attacks by Japanese vessels on British-owned junks or near Hong Kong territorial waters. I have now been supplied by the Governor of Hong Kong with two tables (January to June, 1958, and July to December, 1988) of cases occurring in 1938 in which junks of all kinds

have been molested and in many instances destroyed by

Japanese in the neighbourhood of Hong Kong. * cony of

these tables is enclosed for the information of the

Japanese authorities concerned.

2.

The continuance of these attacks, fre-

quently accompanied by the use of violence, on fishing

and other small vessels, is a source of considerable

concern to His Majesty's Government both on humanitarian

and other grounds. In the first place is Majesty's

Government feel that the recurrence of such incidents,

apart from the 111 effects which the disregard shewn

for lives and property aust have on Anglo-j: panese

beve

relations ❤enerally, osmot fail to create difficulties

as between the local japanese authorities and the

Overnacnt of Hongkong. Secondly such attucks worle

appear to be clearly contrary to the socepted principles

kr. Hachiro

rita,

His Imperial Japanese Majesty's

Minister for Foreign ¿ITALrg.-

/ of