894.30/10–2645
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Vincent) to the Secretary of State
At the request of Mr. Matthews,50 this morning I told the Chinese Ambassador Dr. Wei Tao Ming and Sir George Sansom51 of the British Embassy of our decision with regard to the disposition of the remaining vessels of the Japanese Fleet. I said that we had decided to destroy all large vessels of the Japanese Navy, such as battleships and cruisers, as well as Japanese submarines; and that destroyers and floating vessels with lesser tonnage would be divided equally among the four powers, that is, the U.S.S.R., U.K., China and the U.S. In imparting this information I made no reference to our discussions of the subject with the Soviet Union.
Neither Dr. Wei nor Sir George made any comment other than to say they would notify their Governments.