761.93/12–2846: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1:16 p.m.]
2185. Foreign Office requested representatives of Embassy to call on December 27 ostensibly for purpose of obtaining facts regarding recent refusal of Soviet authorities to permit landing at Dairen from courier vessel of two American correspondents and one American business man. (Reference Shanghai telegram 2538, December 23, 12 a.m., repeating Tsingtao’s 86 to Department.) In reality purpose of interview was to emphasize Chinese attitude in matter of continued Russian [Page 1197] occupation and control of Dairen and informally to take exception to Dept’s statement that Soviet authorities were acting within their rights in making this refusal and, by implication, to propriety of the issuance of such a statement.
Foreign Office pointed out that Russian authorities had never officially taken attitude with China that Russia had right to occupy and administer Dairen because peace had not been formally concluded between Russia and Japan. Foreign Office vouchsafed that technical case would be made out by Russians on this score but in their opinion it lacked substance and reality by reason of fact that Japan unconditionally surrendered, its territory is effectively occupied by allied forces and it has no means of reopening hostilities such as would have been case if cessation of hostilities had been by armistice. Foreign Office considers unconditional surrender as a new concept and thus supersedes for these purposes the formal conclusion of a peace treaty. It does not regard Soviet authorities as acting within their rights in refusing permission for Chinese occupation of city.
Obviously it was the possible strengthening of Russian position that Chinese Foreign Office found distasteful in statement. Foreign Office also emphasized that Sino-Soviet treaty is by no means clear on point of extent of Russian rights and obligations for protection Liaotung Peninsula in event of hostilities with Japan and that being so, in any question of interpretation, the benefit of doubt should accrue to China as obligated party. Furthermore, Russian Ambassador had but recently communicated to head of Changchun railway that his Government was prepared to carry out treaty provisions between Russia and Japan. Apparently negotiations between Chinese and Russian military commanders has thus far proved unprofitable (reference Embtel 2050, December 6, 5 p.m.)51
Sent Dept 2185, December 28, 9 a.m., Shanghai as 870; Shanghai please relay to Dairen.
- Not printed.↩