751G.92/185
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The Minister of Thailand called at my request. I opened the conversation by saying that we in this country have always felt an especially friendly interest in the people of his country and that we still cherish that feeling of friendly relationship and have no other disposition than to continue to do so; that it is in this spirit that I requested him to call today to the end that we might have an exchange of information regarding the situation of his country and that area of the world generally. The Minister seemed greatly pleased and said that he had been hoping to call on me for some time to talk about that subject.
He proceeded to say that his country had been accused of taking unfair advantage of Indochina and France by raising the question of a return of territory to Thailand at a time when Indochina and France were in grave distress. He then said that, if his country had had any desire thus to take advantage of France, it would have done so in June just after the fall of France, whereas in fact it was not until after August, when the situation was very disruptive, that Thailand proceeded to make its demands for a return of territory, and then limited it to two narrow strips of land instead of the large area that was taken by France, but without results. The Minister denied that his Government at that time was acting in any way in concert with Japan. He indicated that his country, being in a serious position and not receiving aid or comfort from other nations, it was not unnatural that it received Japan’s overtures of cooperation favorably and permitted Japan to become closely associated with the Thai situation. He protested earnestly that Japan was not to have any special favors or favors of a discriminatory nature in return and that they had confidence that she was acting more or less altruistically. This was the substance of his remarks.
I said that I was glad to have the benefit of his statements; that, as I had already said, we feel a deep and abiding friendly interest in the people of his country and we have nothing to ask of any nation abroad except fair and friendly relationships based on the principles which govern world order under law, et cetera, et cetera; that this Government for the past eight years in particular has striven in every possible way to prevail on Japan to pursue a course based on law, peace and justice, and fair dealing and fair play instead of pursuing the opposite course of lawlessness and conquest in her efforts to gain control of the entire Pacific area extending as far as India, according to the usual interpretation of the term Eastern Asia. With respect to financial aid for China in particular, we had endeavored to bring [Page 17] about every kind of friendly relations and other methods of mutually desirable cooperation, et cetera, et cetera, but at all times the Japanese military group in control steadfastly refused to accept our overtures and pleas, but instead deliberately pursued a course of lawlessness and invasion which has been extended throughout most of China together with the occupation of countries farther South, such as Indochina and important harbors there. The French Government at Vichy at the instance of someone agreed for the Japanese to send 6,000 troops and airplanes into Indochina without material resistance. I then said that the Japanese, of course, made their appearance in Thailand at a psychological time and posed as genuine disinterested and unselfish friends, as they had on similar occasions in other countries and as Hitler26 had in many countries of Europe before absorbing them. I added that the military group in Japan is undoubtedly out for general domination in that entire southern area, a fact they really avow rather than disavow, and that probably in due course both Indochina and Thailand will be brought under the sovereignty of Japan just as Manchuria in Asia, Norway and Holland in Europe and other countries as well have been brought under the domination of the Japanese or Hitler as the case may be. I said that I would not be a true friend of the people or government of his country unless I frankly expressed this view and that in any event I desired to make a record of it. He showed no disposition to question what I said but expressed his appreciation.
- Adolf Hitler, German Chief of State, Führer and Chancellor.↩