793.94/12565: Telegram
The Chargé in Frame (Wilson) to the Secretary of State
[Received March 2—4:57 p.m.]
324. The Chief of the Far Eastern Division of the Foreign Office77 said to me today that affairs in China have reached a relatively “static” stage. The immediate preoccupation of the French is the question of the Chinese customs.78 The British Ambassador in Tokyo presented yesterday or will present today a request that customs revenues pledged for the service of foreign loans be deposited in a British bank at Shanghai or if the Japanese insist upon the deposit in the Yokohama Specie Bank of the revenues pledged for Japanese loans, then at least the revenues earmarked for other foreign loans should be placed in the British bank. The Foreign Office here feels that the Japanese will insist upon the deposit of all customs receipts in the Japanese bank but is hopeful that an arrangement can be worked out to control satisfactorily the disbursement of these funds.
The Chinese are still getting a few airplanes from France via the Indo-China route in fulfillment of orders “placed before the outbreak of hostilities”. (I have the impression that this phrase is interpreted with some elasticity.) In this connection the Naval Attaché79 is confidentially informed that an order was recently placed for China for 30 Potez–63 planes, a latest type French light bomber-pursuit plane.
[Page 114]Hoppenot said that the Russians are steadily increasing their shipments of airplanes and war material to China. How this is being financed is a puzzle to the French. Sun Fo, the son of Sun Yat-sen and President of the Chinese Legislative Yuan, has been in Russia for 2 months arranging it. It is believed that his visit has had to do with financing and accelerating Russian shipments of war supplies to China.
Sun Fo is due in Paris next week but the only information the French Government has received regarding his visit here is that it is of a personal nature to get in touch with old friends, et cetera.
Apart from shipments of supplies to China the Foreign Office is convinced that the Soviet Government will continue to refrain from taking any more direct or aggressive interest in the Chino-Japanese conflict. On the other hand, the French Ambassador in Tokyo has reported that without any tangible proof he nevertheless has the “feeling” that the Japanese may be preparing for a move against the Russian maritime provinces. My informant said that although he did not himself share this feeling he knew that it existed on the part of other competent observers of the Far East who reason as follows: The Japanese Army chiefs realize that today the Japanese people are worked up to a pitch where they will accept any sacrifice in prosecution of war; that if this patriotic fervor is allowed to subside it will be extremely difficult to whip it up again; and that therefore advantage should be taken of this situation to strike against Russia. Furthermore these military chiefs are convinced that they will be able to wage a successful war against Russia while holding the Chinese in check on their flank with little difficulty. My informant added that this was also the view of many French military officers.
Referring to the recall [of] General Matsui, my informant said that it was possible that the real reason for his return to Japan was to be prepared to head a military coup in case the national mobilization bill should be defeated by the civilian opposition of the army. Matsui is just the person he said to head a movement of this sort.