Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1933, The Far East, Volume III

793.94 Commission/750: Telegram

The Ambassador in Mexico (Clark) to the Secretary of State

Mexico City, January 18, 1933—5 p.m.
[Received 8:11 p.m.]

12. During an interview this morning with Minister of Foreign Affairs Puig he showed me what purported to be telegram instructing Mexican representative at Geneva to notify League of Nations substantially, as I recall it, as follows:

1. Mexican Government considers that Japan, by her act of aggression in Manchuria, has violated Pact of League of Nations, Kellogg-Briand Pact²⁴ and Nine-Power Treaty.²⁵

2. Mexican Government recognizes that Japan has material interests in Manchuria but does not consider that aggression against China is permissible.

3. Mexican Government, while having no material interests in Far East, considers that this matter is of concern to it, in view of Mexican littoral boundary in Pacific.

I understand that Mexican representative is directed that foregoing policy is not to be considered as being unfriendly against Japan, a country with which Mexico has always maintained “an unalterable friendship”.

The foregoing is necessarily a rough description of telegram as it was read to me only once and hastily. Minister Puig asked me whether I had official information from Geneva. I said I had not. Puig said that the Japanese Minister recently told him forcibly that Japan was determined to proceed with their present course “even at the cost of the existence and integrity of Japan”.

Clark

24. Treaty for the renunciation of war, signed at Paris, August 27, 1928, Foreign Relations, 1928, vol. i, p. 153.
25. Signed at Washington, February 6, 1922, Foreign Relations, 1922, vol. i, p. 276.