793.94 Commission/620: Telegram
The Consul at Geneva (Gilbert) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 8—8:40 a.m.]
354. The following joint draft resolution by the delegations of Czechoslovakia, the Irish Free State, Spain and Sweden was transmitted to the President of the Assembly and communicated to the Assembly last evening:
“Considering that the Commission of Inquiry appointed by the Council stated in its unanimous report that as regards the questions pending between the two parties, every possibility of peaceful settlement had not been explored before September 18, 1931; that the relations between China and Japan were those of disguised war; and that the military operations which were undertaken by the Japanese troops after September 18, 1931 and which created these relations could not be regarded as measures of legitimate defense;
Considering that in its unanimous report, the Commission of Inquiry stated it to be a fact that without declaration of war an important part of what was indisputably Chinese territory has been seized by force and occupied by the Japanese troops and that as a sequel to this operation it has been separated and declared independent of the rest of China;
Considering that the Commission of Inquiry further stated in its unanimous report that the present regime in Manchuria could not be regarded as the outcome of a sincere and spontaneous movement of independence;
Observe that the vast operations and the military occupations which followed the events of September 18, 1931, cannot be considered as measures of legitimate defence;
[Page 399]Observe that the regime set up in Manchuria has only been able to be carried into effect, thanks to the presence of Japanese troops;
Observes that the recognition of the present regime in Manchuria is not compatible with existing international obligations;
Authorizes the Committee of Nineteen to solicit the cooperation of the Governments of the United States of America and of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for the purpose of getting into touch with the parties with a view to insuring a settlement of the dispute on the basis of the above-mentioned findings.”