793.94/9007: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 27—1:07 p.m.]
227. 1. The British Chargé d’Affaires93 is telegraphing to his Government in the following sense with regard to the suggestion made on July 25 by General Chiang Kai-shek to the American, British and French Ambassadors to China.
- (a)
- Dodds’ first reaction was that Chiang was attempting to save face by exaggerating Japanese menace. He does not agree that war fever is being worked up by the Japanese Government as there is little evidence of effort to stir up the Japanese people.
- (b)
- The thought occurs to Dodds that Chiang wishes to throw on the powers approached by him the odium of making representations to the Japanese.
- (c)
- There is danger of the Japanese Army exceeding their instructions especially if the Chinese do not act on the settlement which they signed. In Dodds’ view Japan has a fixed policy of domination in North China which would be pursued by successive stages but in his opinion the Chinese themselves must decide when to resist seriously. However, he thinks it unlikely that the Japanese Government intended this stage to take place at the present moment.
- (d)
- Without further evidence Dodds does not feel prepared to recommend to his Government compliance with Chiang’s request that the powers ask Japan not to make further demands. He believes that such action would provoke the retort that Japan has no intention of doing so. His view is based on statement made to him twice by the Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs94 that the Japanese military would not go beyond their instructions but this position, of course, goes by [Page 278] the board if the Chinese do not carry out the agreement which they signed.
2. I concur in the views above outlined. I do not think that “cooperative action by the United States and Great Britain along lines more vigorous than had hitherto been attempted” or in fact any foreign diplomatic representations would favorably affect developments.
Repeated to Peiping.