CO129-619-1 Parliamentary delegation to China 1-9-1947 - 23-12-1947 — Page 100

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CONFIDENTIAL

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5. MANCHURIA.

After the Cairo Conference in December 1943, at

which President Roosevelt, Mr. Churchill and General

Chiang Kai-shek were present, a declaration was issued

stating inter alia that "all territories that Japan has

stolen from the Chinese such as Manchuria, Formosa and the

Pescadores shall be restored to the Republic of China".

The Yalta (Livadia) Agreement of 11th February, 1945,

providing for the entry of the Soviet Union into the war against Japan, contained provisions for the restoration

to the Soviet Union of "the former rights of Russia

violated by the treacherous attack of Japan in 1904", i.e.

in Manchuria. While stating that China should retain

full sovereignty in Manchuria, the agreement provided

for the internationalisation of Dairen as a commercial

port, for the lease of Port Arthur by the Soviet Union

as a naval base, and for the joint Sino-Soviet operation

of the former Chinese Eastern and South Manchuria

railways. China was not a party to the Yalta Agreement,

but these arrangements were confirmed and superseded, as

between the Soviet Union and China, by the Sino-Soviet

Treaty and annexed agreements of 14th August, 1945.

This Treaty confirmed Chinese sovereignty in Manchuria,

but besides providing for joint Sino-Soviet operation

for a period of 30 years of the "Chinese Changchun

Railway" (i.e. Chinese Eastern and South Manchuria

railways), leased to the Soviet Union for 30 years one

helf of all port works and installations at Dairen, and

agreed also for 30 years to the joint use by the two

countries of Port Arthur as a naval base, the defence

/of

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