793.003/1032: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 9—5:15 p.m.]
6970. With reference to the draft of a supplementary note furnished me by Mr. Eden in his letter of December 4 (my 6870, [December] 4, 9 [8] p.m. and my 6914, December 7, 4 p.m.9). I have just received the following communication from Mr. Eden dated December 8 reading in part as follows.
“We have now instructed our Ambassador at Chungking to propose that paragraph 1 (g) of the annex to the note, on the subject of [Page 396] coastal trade and inland navigation, should be altered so as to bring out more clearly the reciprocal nature of the arrangements which we are asking the Chinese Government to accept. Our suggested alteration is that the second half of paragraph 1 (g) after the words ‘coastal trade and inland navigation of the Republic of China’ shall be amended to read:
‘And the Republic of China relinquishes its rights under article 12 of the convention signed at London on 1st March, 1894, relating to navigation on the river Irrawaddy: The Government of the Republic of China on the one hand, and the Governments of the United Kingdom and of India on the other hand, while reserving the right to restrict the coastal trade and inland navigation to vessels flying their own flags declare that they do not contemplate introducing restrictions which will prevent the participation by merchant vessels of His Majesty in these trades in China or the participation of Chinese merchant vessels in these trades in the territories of His Majesty to which the treaty applies, pending the making of further arrangements between them or the conclusion of the comprehensive treaty referred to in article 8.’
The effect of this amendment would be that the Chinese give up their treaty right to navigate the Irrawaddy River under article 12 of the Burma Convention of 1894, at the same time as we give up our treaty rights in China. Equally each party would promise to allow the participation of the merchant vessels of the other in coastal trade and inland navigation throughout all the territories to which the treaty applies pending further arrangements or the conclusion of the comprehensive treaty.”
- Latter telegram not printed.↩