751G.94/155: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:04 p.m.]
481. My 474, September 20, noon.98 The Minister for Foreign Affairs sent for me this morning and gave me a resume of discussions between the Chinese and Vichy Governments concerning Japanese demands on Indochina. He said both the French Government and the Indochina Government had repeatedly vacillated. When the Chinese Government first learned of the demands, it presented a memorandum at Vichy asking for the following assurances: (1) that if the Japanese were allowed to send troops into Indochina the Chinese would be given a similar privilege; (2) that no assistance would be afforded Japanese forces in their operations; and (3) that the French would remain neutral in case of hostilities. An [aide-mémoire?] was received assenting to the first item but replies to the second and third were refused on the ground that they were too vague.
On his request I told the Minister for Foreign Affairs what information the Embassy had received from Hanoi concerning recent events and he said that his information confirmed ours. He then said that he would be grateful if I would inform the American Government that the Chinese Government had made adequate preparations to deal with the situation that had developed in Indochina but that his Government wished to learn what action the American and British Governments intended to take in order that there might be “concerted” action and was making the same announcement [approach?] to the British Ambassador. He inquired what attitude the American Government was taking toward the Japanese measures in question.
I replied that the American Government had verbally expressed its dissatisfaction with the proposal that Japanese forces should enter Indochina but that I found it impossible to envisage to myself the despatch of American troops to that country and therefore I could not foresee any possibility of concerted action in any sense implying similarity of action since I inferred that the Chinese contemplated military measures. The Minister suggested that the American Government might well be contemplating economic or other measures which it was thoroughly understood would be short of war.99
[Page 150]I assured the Minister that I would convey his inquiry promptly to my Government. By dint of questioning I ascertained that an approach along similar lines had been addressed to the Soviet Government but directly to Moscow rather than to the Ambassador in Chungking.
As indicative of measures that may be contemplated by the Chinese, I may say that Reuter’s correspondent here has stated that there are now 200,000 Chinese troops along the Indo-China border in Kwangsi and Yunnan including 1 division of National Government troops in the latter province.
Sent to Department. Repeated to Peiping. Peiping repeat to Tokyo by air mail, Yunnanfu.
- Not printed.↩
- The Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs, commenting on September 28, wrote that “in the light of the statements of the Secretary in regard to the situation in Indochina and especially in the light of the new loan to China and the placing of scrap iron and steel on the embargo list, it is not considered that the telegram under reference requires a specific reply by the Department.” For the Secretary’s statement on September 23, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 297; for loan negotiations, see post, pp. 636 ff.↩