793.94/14737: Telegram
The Chargé in China (Peek) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 21—11 a.m.]
123. Reference Embassy’s telegram No. 98, February 12, noon. It is the Embassy’s observation that far from exhibiting general trepidation over the Japanese invasion of Hainan, Chinese official circles are viewing the matter with a minimum of concern if not with a certain amount of complacency. These impressions on the part of the Chinese may be ascribed to (1) a belief that the Japanese landing on Hainan will have no material effect on the war on the mainland but will rather keep a certain number of Japanese troops occupied on the Island, and (2) a conviction that the Japanese invasion of Hainan is a diplomatic blunder which cannot but result in exacerbation of relations between Japan and the United States, Great Britain and France.
There appears to be no unanimity of opinion in Chungking in relation to Japanese motives in occupying Hainan. One popular view is that it was the consummation of a step in the development of the Rome-Berlin-Tokyo Axis, another is that occupation was undertaken with a view to gaining an added bargaining point in future diplomatic negotiations, a third that it was executed with a view to bringing pressure on France and a fourth that the operations were undertaken to propitiate the Japanese Navy in its desire for expansion to the south.
Repeated to Peiping for mailing of code text to Tokyo.