793.94/11421
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
His Majesty’s Consul-General at Shanghai reported on the 27th November that the Japanese authorities had demanded that the extra-Settlement areas between the Perimeter and the Western Settlement boundary should be policed by them. The presence of Japanese military police inside the defences of the Perimeter seems likely to give rise to incidents both with foreign troops and with the Chinese population, and is, therefore, in the opinion of His Majesty’s Government, most inadvisable. Instructions have accordingly been sent to His Majesty’s Ambassador at Tokyo to urge upon the Japanese Government the desirability of allowing the Municipal Council to police the area in question.
Meanwhile it has been learnt that the Municipal Council have reason to think that the Japanese authorities might recognize the Council’s right to police the extra-Settlement roads in question, and for this they might consider the employment of the former Chinese police under Japanese control. In the opinion of His Majesty’s Consul-General, although this makes the position a little less serious, dangers surrounding the scheme still exist. Strictly speaking it would appear that the Municipal Council should only have the right to police the roads since in normal times the Chinese police the areas between the roads although in practice it used to be found necessary for both forces to operate on the roads. The Japanese authorities therefore have a colourable claim to police the areas between the roads, but if they do so incidents with the Chinese and with foreigners seem almost certain; there will be a risk of other incidents between the Japanese and British troops, and if the Municipal Council’s right to police the roads is not denied, as it is obviously undesirable that it should be, there will probably be difficulties between their police and the Japanese police. There will also probably be a great influx of refugees into the Settlement and consequent additional difficulties will arise for the Settlement authorities.
His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom would be glad to learn whether in view of the circumstances outlined above the United States Government would be prepared to instruct their Ambassador at Tokyo to support Sir R. Craigie’s representations, by urging the Japanese Government to allow the Municipal Council, for the present at any rate, to police the whole area between the Perimeter and the western boundary of the Settlement. It is understood that American troops are not directly concerned with the area in question, but on broader ground, which involves the position of the Municipal [Page 740] Council, it is felt that the matter may be of interest to the United States Government especially since the same considerations are understood to arise in connection with the desire of the Japanese authorities to occupy certain mills in the American sector in the Settlement.