CAB80-20 — Page 87

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(THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT).

TO BE KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY.

It is requested that special care may be taken to

ensure the secrecy of this document.

SECRET.

C.O.S. (40)

COPY NO.

72

:

7th October, 1940.

WAR CABINET.

CHTEFS OF STAFF COLICIES

ས བ ད ག པ ག པ 1:|:པ# &d6+ཏེ རིན་པདཔར་མརྣམས་འིན༔དའི་-་ཞི ཙཅ༨བྱུས

BRITISH, AMERICAN AND DUTCH TECHNICAL MILITARY

CONVERSATIONS.

Draft Report by the Joint Planning Staff

We have been instructed by the Chiefs of Staff to

consider, on the assumption that technical military

conversations with the Americans and Dutch will be held at Singapore in the near future:

2..

(a) What preparations should be made in this country

and in the Far East prior to the conversations being held; and

(6) What instructions should be given to our

representatives as to the line they should take and how the conversations should be conducted.

In preparing this Paper, we have found it necessary to

The implications

go rather beyond these terms of reference.

of the Ten Year Pact beteen Germany, Italy and Japan make it certain that, if Germany and Italy honour this Pact, America will also be involved in war with all three countries as soon as she is at war with Japan. therefore, that the conversations will have to take place on

It seems clear, two planes:-

3.

(a)

(3)

In the United Kingdom and the United States, where

the broader considerations of the effect of American participation in the European war on the war in the Far East should be reviewed;

In the Far East, where the military problem in the

Far Eastern war should be discussed.

We deal first with the conversations in the Far East, and later in the Paper we refer briefly to the broader conversations which concern American participation in the war as a whole. To some extent the Far Bastorn talks will depend upon certain major strategic decisions, such as the disposition of the American battlefleet, which can only be decided in the discussions in this country or America. consider it important that conversations on both planes should be started as early as possible.

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