CO129-579-7 Sino-Japanese War- shipping on Pearl River 4-1-1939 - 9-6-1939 — Page 32

LOSURE NO. 1 IN CANTON DESPATCH NO. 93 to EMBASSY, SHANGHAI of 9/5/39.

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RE-OPENING OF PEARL RIVER.

Meeting the Japanese Consul-General at the German

National Day reception on May 1st, I enquired what were the

prospects of the re-opening of the Pearl River. Mr.

Okazaki replied that there was none in the near future. I

asked him what was the real reason for this continued

failure to re-open the river, to which he replied that he

would tell me on some less public occasion.

2.

I returned to the subject in my office, where he

came to see me on other matters, on May 2nd, when we

discussed this matter at length. The net substance of our

conversation was that his own personal opinion remained

unchanged, i.e. that the balance of advantage to Japan lay

in the continued closure of the Pearl River. However, in

the first place, it was admitted by everybody that sooner

or later the Pearl River must be re-opened. Secondly, he

and his colleagues of "the triumvate" (Special Service

Section), i.e. Major General H. Nakano (ho succeeded

Col. Miyasaki), Captain Ugaki and himself felt strongly

that there could be no rehabilitation of Canton until the

river was opened and were therefore in favour of the

immediate re-opening of the Pearl River. To them was

opposed a body of opinion, who argued that the primary

object of the military occupation of Canton had been to

stop supplies of all kinds reaching General Chiang Kai Shek.

Undoubtedly if Canton were open, supplies would filter

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through in both directions.

Moreover, and more important,

the moral effect on the Chinese forces, that Japan should

herself facilitate trade with the interior, far out-weighed

any advantage to Japanese trade or revenue through the

rehabilitation of Canton. If there were a few people of

influence/