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The Chinese Embassy to the Department of State 10
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Translation of a Telegram From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ambassador
Reference to your telegram #202. The position taken by this Government in our reply to Vichy is as follows:
- (1)
- A neutral country should not associate itself with any belligerent in any common action of an offensive or defensive nature. Inasmuch as the Indo-China Government has permitted Japanese troops to move into Indo-China for the purpose of attacking China, the movement of Chinese troops into Indo-China for the purpose of attacking the enemy there cannot, therefore, be a violation of the neutrality of Indo-China.
- (2)
- Since Indo-China has signed with Japan an agreement for joint defense, it should negotiate with China for a similar agreement. Failure to do this is clearly a violation of the obligations of a neutral.
- (3)
- Indo-China has permitted Japanese troops to enter and has also signed an agreement for joint defense with Japan. In doing so, Indo-China has practically undertaken the duty of protecting Japanese troops within its borders, and should therefore hold itself responsible for the possible spread of the war into its own territory.
- (4)
- China has absolutely no territorial design on Indo-China. If China, for the sake of self-defense, should send troops into Indo-China to attack our enemy, we sincerely hope the French Army would cooperate with us or at least would not offer any resistance.
- Received from the Chinese Ambassador (Hu Shih) on January 26 by the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck).↩