CO129-578-12 Sino-Japanese War- attacks on shipping 10-1-1939 - 17-11-1939 — Page 99

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vessel, the latter was obliged to fire at the junks and

sink some of them. The Japanese Government undertook to

make further investigations and proaised that, if the pre-

vious report proved to be at fault and evidence could be

produced that there were British junks among those sunk and

British subjects among those killed, they would recon sider

the question of compensation.

in enquiry as to the result of the further

investigations was addressed to the Vice-inister for Foreign

Affairs on the 9th arch, 1938, in reply to which the inistry

stated in a memorandum dated the 18th April that the Japanese

Government, which had taken advantage of the presence in

Japan of the patrol vessel to make further enquiries, regarded

the matter as a purely Jino-Japanese affair. It was pointed

out that the Japanese patrol vessel was a mine sweeper and

not a submarine, that the patrol vessel acted in self-defence,

and that there was no indication that any of the junks were

Eritish property or contained #ritish subjects, (from the absence of markings and the actions of the crews they appeared

to be Chinese or pirates). The patrol vessel had unfortunately

been unable, in spite of efforts, to achieve adequate sucoess

in rescuing the survivors. The offer of indemnification Wes

renewed in the event of British subjects who did not take

direct part in the attack being among those killed.

His majesty's bassy replied on the 15th August

in an official note to the effect that is Majesty's Govern-

ment could not regard the Japanese version of the incident

as disposing of the findings of the Hongkong Commission. They

considered it highly improbable that fishermen would have

been so foolhardy as to attack a Japanese war vessel, md it

appeared that a serious breach of fundamental rules of war

and of the rules of conduct of operations against merchant

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