845C.00/3–1947
The Acting Secretary of State to the Consulate General at Rangoon
The Acting Secretary of State refers to the Consulate General’s telegram 206 of March 19, 1947 and to the Department’s telegram 100 of March 21, 194751 and forwards herewith two copies of the proposed [Page 21] consular convention with the United Kingdom.52 Changes have been made in the United Kingdom draft convention in order to enable this draft to be more suitable as the basis of a consular convention between the United States and Burma.
It is requested that this draft be studied to ascertain whether any of its provisions require revision before submission to the appropriate Burmese authorities and that the Department be informed by cable, referring to page and line number, of any suggested changes.53 If no amendments are deemed necessary, a copy of the draft should be presented to the appropriate Burmese authorities with the explanation that it is hoped that the consular convention can be signed following and on the same day as the exchange of notes which establishes diplomatic relations between the United States and Burma. At an appropriate stage of the negotiations the Burmese authorities should be informed in writing that the sentence at the end of Article I, paragraph 1 “The sending state may prescribe the consular district to correspond to each consular office” will be interpreted by the United States to mean that this country may, if it wishes, prescribe the Rangoon consular district as comprising the whole of Burma—Shan States, Kachin hills, Chin hills, etc.
The consular convention should be prepared for signature at the appropriate time by either the Burmese Department of External Affairs or the Consulate General. For information regarding the negotiation and conclusion of treaties and other international agreements, including information regarding preparation of documents for signature, see Foreign Service Regulations, Chapter XI. It will be necessary to have a full power issued by the President authorizing the United States plenipotentiary to sign the convention. The Officer in Charge will be informed by cable when the full power has been issued and when he may proceed to the signature of the convention.
- Neither printed. In telegram 206 Mr. Packer advised the inclusion of all Burma in the American consular district in advance of taking up the question of establishing diplomatic relations; in telegram 100 the Department replied that it was defining the Rangoon consular district as all Burma in a draft of a Burmese-American consular convention to be sent to Rangoon, copies of which would be airmailed early with the aim of signing the consular convention simultaneously with the exchange of notes establishing diplomatic relations (845C00/3–1947).↩
- Not printed.↩
- Telegram 300, April 17, 8 a.m., from Rangoon suggested some changes in the draft and pointed out that all of Burma was not yet under the same administration (711.45C21/4–1747).↩