893.113/1393
The Consul General at Hong Kong (Jenkins) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 20.]
Sir: In connection with the final paragraph in this Consulate General’s despatch of May 11, 1932, concerning the aircraft situation in Hong Kong and South China, I now have the honor to report that I am in receipt of a letter from Consul General Ballantine to the effect that he has just been advised by General Huang Kuang-jui, the head of the Canton Aviation Bureau, that since the beginning of 1932 some twenty planes fitted with machine guns or bombing racks had been imported through Hong Kong into Canton under permits issued by the Nanking Government, and that six planes had been imported as commercial craft without authorization from the central government. General Huang implied, according to Consul General Ballantine, that some of the non-military planes had been fitted with military equipment and were now capable of being used as fighting [Page 586] machines. None of the twenty-six planes was of American manufacture.
This information seems to confirm the statements made by Mr. Tratman, of the Hong Kong Colonial Secretary’s Office, as reported in my despatch of May 11. It will be recalled that Mr. Tratman said the military planes which the Hong Kong authorities had permitted to be unpacked and assembled in the local aerodrome and then flown to Canton, were covered by “Nanking Papers”.
For the information of the Department, it would appear that the present situation in respect to the shipment of military supplies to Canton may be summarized as follows:
- (a)
- With the exception mentioned under (c) below, the attitude of the British Government in London seems to coincide with that of the United States Government. In other words, military supplies, including military planes, cannot be shipped from Great Britain to China without the approval of the Nanking Government.
- (b)
- On the other hand, the Hong Kong Government permits so-called through shipments to Canton of military planes and military supplies under the provisions of the Barcelona Convention. Such shipments must be direct and intended for the Canton regime, although not necessarily covered by a through bill of lading. The country of origin of such shipments appears to be immaterial. It is understood that the Hong Kong authorities are permitting such through shipments from Holland, Germany and elsewhere as readily as from England.
- (c)
- Adverting to paragraph (a) above, there may be one point in which the policy of Great Britain does not agree with that of the United States; i.e., the question as to what constitutes a military plane. Apparently the British consider an unarmed plane of military type to be non-military, whereas this Consulate General understands that the United States Government deems all planes of military type, although unarmed, to be military craft, and as such, refuses to permit their exportation to China unless accompanied by a request from the Nanking Government.
Respectfully yours,