711.9412Anti-War/134
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Chinese Minister came in to present what he considered a rather serious matter in regard to the Kellogg Pact and he presented it in written form as follows:
“During the recent discussion of the Kellogg Pact in the Japanese Privy Council, the Government was asked why it made no mention of the right of self-defence vis-a-vis Manchuria and Mongolia. The Government replied that a broad interpretation of the right of self-defence allowed the exercise of that right when Japan’s special interests were affected even though those special interests be outside the territory of the Japanese Empire, and that therefore no reservation regarding Manchuria and Mongolia was necessary.”
I told him that I had heard nothing of any such matter being raised. He asked whether the correspondence gave any light on the interpretation [Page 250] of the right of self-defence and I told him that I could not say but that I would have the matter looked up and the result called to his attention at some later time. Will the appropriate officer of the Department kindly attend to this?