793.94/15739
The American Embassy in Japan to the Japanese Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Pro Memoria
The United States Government is informed that the portion of the railway between Haiphong and Yunnanfu which lies in Chinese territory has recently been subjected to frequent bombings by Japanese military airplanes. This railway in recent months has carried a considerable part of the trade involved in the normal commercial relations of the United States and China. American commerce must, therefore, necessarily be injured and the lives of American citizens engaged in that commerce may be endangered as a result of the Japanese bombing of that railway.
This danger to our nationals and injury to our commerce comes at the very time when Japan desires, according to our understanding, to indicate to the United States its intention to avoid injuring the rights in China of third Powers. The United States will have no other choice, if the bombing continues, than to add this to the extensive list of injuries, commercial and otherwise, which has been suffered by it as a result of the actions of the Japanese forces in China.
The United States Government assumes that the Japanese Government is aware that, to the personnel of American official establishments at Chungking, the railway is an important means of ingress and egress, and that the lives of Americans lawfully engaged in the pursuit of their official duties may therefore be endangered by bombing attacks on the railway.