793.94/4731: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 14—12:05 p.m.]
My March 13, 3 p.m. British Minister replied yesterday to Japanese Minister that in response to an inquiry he had received the following statement from the British Foreign Secretary regarding validity of the reservations made by Dr. Yen at the time of the League Assembly resolution March 4.
“The translation of the report of the Chinese delegate stated that he understood it to mean that the negotiations mentioned in paragraph 3 thereof were armistice negotiations and not Shanghai conference which should follow armistice negotiations. He accepted the resolution on this understanding and on the further understanding that no condition should be attached to the withdrawal of the invaders troops.
No other delegate spoke and these undertakings were therefore presumably accepted by the Assembly.”
Sir Miles adds, that this view apparently does not tally with the view expressed by the Japanese representatives as stated in Shanghai’s [Shigemitsu’s] letter of March 13th.