Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The Far East, Volume IV

893.0146/768: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

Washington, May 16, 1940—6 p.m.

154. Department’s 74, May 14, 5 p.m., to Peiping and Peiping’s 164, May 16, 3 p.m., to the Department.⁴² Please make an informal approach to the Japanese Foreign Office along lines as follows:

The Government of the United States is informed by the Commander in Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet⁴³ that an informal oral agreement has been reached by the commanders of all European forces in the vicinity of Shanghai that they would maintain a peaceful continuance of the status quo at Shanghai in the unfortunate event of a spread of the war in Europe. It is understood that the Japanese authorities have been informed of that agreement. This Government is further informed by the American Embassy at Peiping that the commanders of the detachments of European forces at Peiping have manifested a completely cooperative attitude in keeping with the agreement reached at Shanghai, and this Government assumes that this includes the European detachments at Tientsin.

As one of the parties to the Boxer Protocol⁴⁴ and to the various other international agreements by virtue of which the United States and other countries maintain military and naval detachments in China, the Government of the United States expresses its satisfaction at this development which it believes will serve the interests of all countries concerned, both neutrals and belligerents.”

Before approaching the Japanese Foreign Office you are authorized in your discretion to inform your British, French and Italian colleagues of the action which you are about to take.⁴⁵

Sent to Tokyo via Peiping. Repeated to Chungking, Shanghai, and Tientsin.

Hull

42. Neither printed; the telegrams were concerned with the matter presented in telegram No. 161, May 14, 4 p.m., from the Embassy in China at Peiping, supra.
43. Adm. Thomas C. Hart.
44. Signed at Peking, September 7, 1901; Foreign Relations, 1901, Appendix (Affairs in China), p. 312.
45. For Japanese reply, June 11, see telegram No. 438, June 11, 10 p.m., from the Ambassador in Japan, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, p. 78.