893.00/11492
The American Minister in China (Johnson) to the Chinese Minister for Foreign Affairs (C. T. Wang)44
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s formal note of April 13, 1931, concerning the firing on the S. S. Iping, a vessel of the Yangtze Rapid Steamship Company, on April 8, 1931 at a point about five miles above Ichang. It is noted that the report submitted to Your Excellency by the Precautionary Defense Headquarters at Ichang alleges that the S. S. Iping failed to stop when ordered to do so and opened fire with machine guns, killing and wounding some twenty soldiers.
In this connection I desire to inform Your Excellency that this matter has already been brought to my attention by the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet who reported that the vessel in question while proceeding from Chungking was suddenly and without any warning whatever, heavily fired upon at a point about five miles above Ichang and that when fire was opened she stopped. The firing increased in intensity and in order to extricate herself from a difficult position and defend and protect those on board, it became necessary to open fire in self defense and steam at full speed from the vicinity. Three persons were wounded aboard the S. S. Iping, one seriously. The Commander-in-Chief further reported that as the S. S. Iping steamed into the harbor of Ichang a notification was published that merchant vessels would be inspected at the Customs Station at San Yu Tung, for the purpose of ascertaining whether or not there were any communists aboard.
Inasmuch as no information regarding the intention of the Chinese authorities to stop and search vessels in the vicinity of Ichang had been given to American consular or naval officers prior to this incident it was obviously impossible for the S. S. Iping to know that such a procedure had been suddenly instituted by the Chinese authorities. Furthermore, I desire to call Your Excellency’s attention to the fact that the S. S. Iping did stop when first fired upon but that as the fire from the shore did not cease but increased in intensity it became necessary for her to proceed ahead at full speed and to return the fire in order to extricate herself from a difficult situation.
Both the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet and I regret the incident which appears to have been due entirely to a misunderstanding on both sides, as well as the fact that information [Page 957] regarding the procedure instituted by the Chinese authorities at San Yu Tung had not been disseminated before the incident.
I avail myself [etc.]
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister in China in his despatch No. 962, May 2; received June 11.↩