893.102S/1912
The Consul General at Shanghai (Gauss) to the Commander in Chief, United States Asiatic Fleet (Hart)76
Sir: I acknowledge the receipt of your confidential letter of today’s date in reference to the Japanese advice to the British and French that their warships and military forces should withdraw, and the resulting position at Shanghai under the so-called International Defense Plan.
It is my understanding from our conversation this noon that you make no request at this time that your position as stated in your letter be communicated by me to any foreign authorities.
The so-called International Defense Plan was made in 1931 and amended in 1934, by agreement amongst the commanding officers of the British military forces, the Fourth Regiment U. S. Marines, the Japanese Naval Landing Party, the Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Council, the Commandant of the Shanghai Volunteer Corps, and the Commissioner of the Shanghai Municipal Police, with the commanding officer of the French military forces accepting the plan so far as it made provision for cooperation and mutual aid between the [Page 74] French forces and the forces in the International Settlement. The French authorities have always maintained that the French Concession is an entirely French administered area and their participation in any joint defense plans has been limited to cooperation and mutual aid between the French and other forces.
If and when the time comes to put forward your position as outlined in your letter, and any request is made to me to communicate your position to any foreign or municipal civil authorities, I suggest that the appropriate officer of the U. S. Navy or U. S. Marine Corps should take similar action vis-à-vis any other foreign military or naval authorities concerned since the so-called international defense plan was made between military, naval and municipal authorities, and the American and other foreign consular representatives were not parties thereto.
Very truly yours,
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Consul General at Shanghai in his covering despatch No. 2537, September 16; received October 17.↩