751G.92/206: Telegram
The Minister in Thailand (Grant) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 26—8:40 a.m.]
42. The Thai Cabinet in a 3–hour session late this afternoon accepted the Japanese offer to mediate the dispute between Thailand and Indochina. Prince Varnvaidya, adviser to the Foreign Office, who called to give me the information by direction of the Prime Minister, said the decision was unanimous. He said the sessions would likely be held in Tokyo and that he would probably be one of the representatives of Thailand and that Rene Robin and the French Ambassador in Tokyo would likely represent France. He believes that an armistice will be declared at the frontier within a short time.
Varnvaidya explained that the Thai Government could take no action other than to accept the offer of mediation in view of the acceptance of Japan’s offer by Vichy. As indicated in my previous telegrams it would appear that Varnvaidya and his associates in the Foreign Office have been more or less if not completely in the dark concerning the Japanese offer to Thailand and that secret agreement was reached several days ago between the Prime Minister and the Japanese Minister. Varnvaidya offered no satisfactory explanation of the statement made yesterday to the press by the Japanese Minister to the effect that no offer of mediation had been made to the Thai Government, the statement made to the British Minister and the French Chargé d’Affaires yesterday afternoon and reiterated this morning by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs to the effect that no such offer had been made by Japan, and the statement made this afternoon to newspaper correspondents by the Japanese Minister that he had made Japan’s offer of mediation 5 days ago and that it had been accepted in principle by Thailand.
I inquired of the Prince as to the probable extent of Siam’s claims to be presented at the Tokyo Mediation Conference. Would they be restricted to the rectification of the frontier on the right bank of the river Mekong which is the basis of the government’s official claim, I asked. Varnvaidya replied that he had been designated by the Prime Minister to study that very question and that the extent of Thai’s claims would depend on future developments in the control of Indochina by a third power, meaning Japan. He mentioned the territories of Laos and Cambodia.
I then said to the Prince that I wanted to ask him a question unofficially and entirely off the record, i. e., did he, as a distinguished lawyer and diplomat, believe that it is for a party which is so heavily interested in the affairs of one of the parties to a controversy to act as an impartial judge.
[Page 44]I explained that according to my experience it was always assumed that a mediator must be absolutely impartial and disinterested. The Prince evaded a direct reply and reiterated that Thailand had no alternative since it had already accepted Japan’s offer of mediation. I said to the Prince, explaining that I was speaking personally and off the record again, that I thought Thailand was on very dangerous ground and he agreed with me.
I am confident that the intelligent Thais are not happy over this situation and that they have gone along under pressure of and through fear of Japan and as a result of vicious campaign of propaganda and intimidation by a powerful group of pro-Japanese, militaristic Thais.
Sent to Cavite for repetition to Department, Chungking, Hong Kong, Shanghai. Shanghai please repeat to Tokyo.