893.6363 Manchuria/99: Telegram
The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 1—5:12 a.m.]
266. Department’s 198, November 28, 7 p.m. Presented Department’s aide-mémoire on Manchurian oil monopoly to the Minister for Foreign Affairs today, bringing out orally the two points mentioned in the ante-penultimate paragraph of the Department’s telegram.
The Minister in answering my oral representations said that he would forward our aide-mémoire to Hsinking but he felt that the American and British Governments were taking a too legalistic view of the matter. The authorities of “Manchukuo” had every desire to maintain the open door in practice and wished to work out with the representatives of the foreign oil companies a reasonable arrangement by which their interests would not be jeopardized. Japan had come [Page 774] to a special arrangement with “Manchukuo” the benefits of which other nations could no doubt enjoy after they had accorded recognition. I emphasized the unconditional assurances given by the authorities in Manchuria that they would respect and maintain treaty rights and the repeated assurances of Japan to the same effect, in which the question of recognition did not enter at all, quoting specific Japanese statements in support. I said that we could hardly avoid taking a legalistic view of the matter since the sanctity of treaties upon which the whole fabric of international relationships and good faith depended was here involved. The Minister replied that he agreed concerning the sanctity of treaties but that the whole question of the applicability of the old treaties with China was a very difficult and complicated one and that he thought it would be better to lay the stress on the practical rather than on the legalistic aspects of the issue. The authorities of “Manchukuo”, he repeated, were anxious to find a satisfactory solution.
The Minister’s arguments throughout the conversation were specious.70
I have informed my British colleague.
Repeated to Peiping by mail.
- For the Ambassador’s memorandum of this conversation, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 144.↩