793.94/4014a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham)
3. I assume that you have already been advised that the Japanese Government is elaborating proposals for negotiations to be undertaken by Japanese representatives at Shanghai toward settlement of the situation at Shanghai.
Ambassador Forbes informs me that the proposals embrace the following points: (1) Immediate termination of hostilities in the Shanghai area; (2) institution of a neutral zone which will be policed by neutrals; and (3) apparently continued occupation, by Japanese troops of the region outside the International Settlement in which Japanese nationals predominate. The Ambassador has been informed that on Sunday 3,000 Japanese troops will be landed at or near Shanghai, that no other Japanese military forces have as yet been dispatched from Japan, and that the Japanese Government will send no more land forces prior to Sunday or Monday, if then.
I assume that the” Japanese authorities at Shanghai will approach you in connection with these proposals and you are authorized, [Page 185] should you and the British and other authorities be so approached, to cooperate in an endeavor to find a solution on the basis of these proposals. For that purpose, I wish to give an accurate indication of our attitude in order that you may protect the American interests involved, without undertaking commitments or creating precedents which would be embarrassing in the future, in the course of your necessary participation in the negotiations.
- 1.
- The proposal must be considered entirely as a proposal coming from Japan. It is in no way an acceptance of the recent four-power proposal for a lasting settlement of the controversy.
- 2.
- Notwithstanding this fact, it is a matter of importance to us if the termination of the hostilities which at present are endangering the International Settlement be effected, provided that this truce does not prepare the way for greater complications for the future or infringe upon the principles which are now maintained to protect the Settlement.
- 3.
- Bearing this in mind, you should oppose allowing new troops to be landed in the Settlement unless they have been designated to take part only in the protection of the Settlement as such and are not intended for operations outside of the Settlement. If there is evidence that this principle is to be violated you should make an appropriate protest. You should attempt to obtain the most sweeping engagements possible from both the Chinese and the Japanese authorities that there shall not be at any time, either now or in the future, any interference with the commerce and trade of the Port of Shanghai. You should attempt to secure an undertaking from the Japanese authorities that none of their proposed new forces are intended to effect any permanent occupation outside of the International Settlement and that, as soon as the present emergency has passed, they will withdraw all of such forces in excess of the ordinary landing forces hitherto maintained. You should avoid any pressure upon the Chinese which will give them any chance to say or believe that we have sided with Japan in forcing them to conclude a truce disadvantageous to them, or any pressure upon the Chinese to take any action which is not essential to the defense of our interests in the International Settlement. If these efforts result in the proposal of a neutral zone outside of the International Settlement, which zone is to be patrolled by neutral forces, the American authorities at Shanghai are authorized, if they deem it advisable, to consent to the creation of such a zone and to participate in its policing if the Chinese have consented to its establishment.
Keep me currently informed of the progress of the negotiations contemplated in this proposal and, in case difficulties arise, report them to me for such help as it may be possible to give you. The Japanese Government has requested strict secrecy for the time being in connection with this proposal. You should, however, inform Admiral Taylor, confidentially, concerning the above.