751G.94/112
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
The British Ambassador at Tokyo has been instructed to concert with his United States colleague and, provided he sees no serious objection, to call on the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs and, after conveying to him the information summarized in the annexure hereto75 and based on reports received from the British Consul General at Haiphong, to say that His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom cannot but be gravely disquieted by the news that an ultimatum should have been delivered to the French authorities in Indo-China by the Japanese authorities on the spot without the knowledge and therefore presumably the consent of the Japanese Government. Sir Robert Craigie would add that His Majesty’s Government find it difficult to escape the impression that advantage is being taken of the difficulties in which France and Indo-China find themselves to put pressure upon them to agree to measures of profound political and strategic importance affecting not only Indo-China and China proper but all countries who have interests in the Far East. In so far as these measures appear to be designed to facilitate an attack from a new quarter on the forces of the Chinese National Government Sir Robert Craigie would add that they seem to His Majesty’s Government to be inconsistent with the spirit of the Burma Road agreement (since it would be cynical to assert that a new offensive can be regarded as a sincere effort to conclude a just and equitable peace). Finally Sir Robert Craigie would express the hope that the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs will be able to give him a reassuring reply to convey to His Majesty’s Government.
His Majesty’s Government will be glad to know whether the United States Government are prepared to instruct the United States Ambassador at Tokyo to make further representations to the Japanese Government on lines similar to the foregoing.
- Not printed.↩