500.A15a3/769: Telegram
The Chairman of the American Delegation (Stimson) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received March 21—3:58 p.m.]
149. Repeat to Tokyo.89 Agreement of the three delegations in regard to replacement of Furutaka class is that a reservation will be inserted by Japan to the effect that at the next conference she will be free to claim the right of replacement by a 10,000-ton cruiser of each vessel of that class when 20 years old. This right of replacement will not be conceded by Great Britain or America and if it is then asserted each will be free to oppose the claim. As your telegram stated, your understanding of the matter is still correct. We have been repeatedly asked by Matsudaira to surrender on this point and until it became clear that neither Great Britain nor ourselves could yield, he did not abandon his insistence.
Our agreement is here continually claimed by the newspapers as an American proposal and they say that in Japan a counterproposal is being considered. The lack of a public statement by either the Japanese delegation or the Tokyo authorities that this is not an American proposal but is in fact an agreement reached by the three delegations, is surprising to us. Should Tokyo repudiate this agreement we would have difficulty in continuing to negotiate with a delegation which is without power and which its Government does not support. If the proposal is repudiated by Tokyo or a so-called counterproposal is sent we will immediately commence preparation of a two-power agreement with Great Britain on auxiliary categories and the American delegation will return to Washington on the termination of that agreement.
Because we have been urgently requested by Wakatsuki and Matsudaira to say nothing until the Japanese Government has acted we have refrained from making any press statement.
- Transmitted to the Embassy in Japan as Department’s telegram No. 55, March 21, 5 p.m.↩