Office of the Historian

894.30/5–646: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Political Adviser in Japan (Atcheson)

top secret
Washington, May 9, 1946—7 p.m.

299. Reurad C–60653 [201].23 Support of USSR of general principles quoted Paragraph 1, Appendix A, SWNCC 186/1224 was contained in letter to Secretary Byrnes signed Molotov dated October 19, 1945.25 On Oct 26, 1945 Dept orally informed British and Chinese Ambassadors that “we had decided to destroy all large vessels of the Jap Navy such as battleships and cruisers as well as Jap submarines and that destroyers and floating vessels with lesser tonnage would be divided equally among the four powers, that is, with the USSR, UK, China and the US”.26

As stated in paragraph 2, Appendix A, SWNNC 186/12 formal agreement was requested of UK, USSR and China to procedure outlined in Dept’s communication quoted therein. Replies have been received from the USSR and China as noted in paragraph 3. No formal reply has been received from U.K.

With regard to further developments in respect of subject matter of paragraph 3 of same Appendix, note quoted in Appendix C was communicated to Soviet Foreign Office on April 5 [6]. On May 4 Dept sent to Embassy Moscow for transmittal in substance to Soviet Foreign Office as supplement27 to note delivered April 5 the text proposed by JCS in SWNCC 186/13, 22 April 1946, which paper it is assumed you possess.28

Acheson
  1. Dated May 6, not printed; it asked for information in regard to disposition of Japanese combatant naval vessels, as the Soviet member of the Allied Council, Lt. Gen. Kuzma Nikolayevich Derevyanko, had raised questions concerning the matter (894.30/5–646).↩
  2. March 21, not printed, but see SWN–4203, April 26, p. 505.↩
  3. See telegram 2199, October 22, 1945, noon, from Moscow, Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. vi, p. 906.↩
  4. See memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs, October 26, 1945, Foreign Relations, 1945, vol. vi, p. 996.↩
  5. The supplementary letter was dated May 8, according to telegram 1478, May 9, 9 a.m., from Moscow.↩
  6. See quotation in SWN–4203, April 26, p. 505.↩