Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1937, The Far East, Volume III

761.9415 Amur River/14: Telegram

The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

Peiping, July 7, 1937—6 p.m.
[Received July 7—8:53 a.m.]

205. The following telegram has been received from Harbin:

“July 7, 2 p.m. My telegram No. 10, July 4, noon.

1. Local press reports of a new Japanese-Russian clash near Lake Hanka are causing concern.

2. A reliable Manchukuo official states that the Kwantung spokesmen differs widely from Tokyo regarding the settlement of the Amur affair.

3. It seems possible that the Kwantung army is, by means of inspired incidents, testing the strength of Soviet military resistance following recent executions in Russia and that the extent to which these incidents may develop will depend upon the stiffness of Soviet resistance.[”]

Johnson