The Ambassador of Japan called at his own request. He did not mention the
Philippine Immigration Bill, or the reported anti-Japanese disturbances in Peru,
or, expressly, the Netherlands Indies, or the status of European armed forces
in China. At the beginning of the conversation I made reference to the increased
state of war and chaos in other parts of the world and the terrible destructive
effects of it in every way, adding that it appeared more and more as if no large
country, much less a small country, was safe from some aggressive intervention
by force in one way or another, and that about the only thing a nation could
do was to arm to the teeth and be ready for any serious interference with its
rights and interests by the use of military force or the threat of force. I
said that, fortunately, as was shown today in Congress, and as was apparent
all over the nation since the more recent invasions of helpless peaceful nations
for purposes of their destruction, the American people have now become thoroughly
awakened, aroused and alert in regard to any threatened injuries to American
rights and interests, and that this was a matter of great gratification to those
of us in charge of the foreign affairs of the nation.
The Ambassador then proceeded at great length to question and cross?examine
me about the Netherlands West Indies, comprising Curacao and Aruba. I said that,
of course, my Government and the other twenty?one American Republics would not
consider for a moment any departure from their traditional policy relating to
the safety of this hemisphere, and if that was what the Ambassador had in mind,
I could make that statement together with the further statement that as soon
as this Government learned of the fact that British and French vessels patrolling
the waters near Curacao and Aruba were offering potential aid to the Netherlands
Government in preventing possible sabotage and possible armed expeditions from
the mainland intended to seize the governments on one or both of these possessions,
. . . this Government proceeded to assemble the facts as expeditiously as possible
in regard to the ability of Netherlands guards and citizens in Curaçao and Aruba
to protect the islands and their governments from such dangers. I further stated
that it was my understanding that the British and French patrols were in no
sense interfering with the Netherlands governments on these two islands, but
were recognizing the authority of these governments during the brief temporary
time deemed necessary to aid in safeguarding against the dangers already mentioned,
and that they have made it clear that thereafter their patrols will not offer
any guards for additional protection in connection with their continued patrol
work, and hence there cannot arise the slightest question of interference with
the traditional American policy relating to its own protection from possible
dangers from abroad. Furthermore, the Netherlands Government would be expected
to send from abroad any additional guards that may later be found to be needed.
The Ambassador did not seem to be satisfied with any sort of answer I made.
He continued with an increasingly minute cross?examination as it were. I suddenly
and emphatically interrupted him and inquired of him if his Government hail
sent him to me to ask all these detailed questions about a matter of no importance
to his Government or to any other government, and if his Government had sent
him to go into this almost interminable examination, I desired now to know what
the motive and purpose of his Government was for doing so. I said that there
would never be any friction between my Government and any other government on
account of anything unlawful or unfair that my Government may do, but that it
would be due to something unlawful that another government may do. I added that
I had devoted most of the past seven years to efforts at understanding and peaceful
relations between our two Governments.
I then picked up two or three pages of material which had come in via the news
ticker from Tokyo, in which the Japanese Government is reported to be discussing
every day or two some phase of the Netherlands East Indies and its supposed
special rights in them. I stated that I had not intended to show him this, that
it had just come to my desk as the Ambassador came in, but I remarked with emphasis
that it had been thought that the Japanese Government and the Governments of
the United States, Great Britain and France had each and all repeated recently
their prior commitment that each was obligated to respect the status quo in
the Netherlands East Indies and. I had thought that settled the matter as among
our four countries, since each country unequivocally pledged itself to respect
the stags quo, but I added that notwithstanding the efforts of many of us to
maintain a thorough understanding with the Government of Japan, there was continually
coming out of Tokyo additional discussions. of the Netherlands East Indies as
though the commitment to respect and preserve the status quo had not been made.
I said that these were news reports and I myself was slow to accredit them,
but that the tenor of the reports interfered with the efforts of the Ambassador
and myself and others to preserve understanding and fair play and fair treatment
between our two countries by causing misunderstanding and increasing hostility
on the part of the people in each country. I said that I would make no complaint
now about the matter if that was a part of the newspaper policy in Japan. I
added finally that my Government strives for peace year in and year out and
it desires at all times to avoid controversy, and, therefore, if controversy
arises, the fault will not lie at the door of this Government. I said further
that in our constant desire and constant effort to promote and preserve peace,
both with other countries and among other countries, I hoped that this attitude
of ours would not be misunderstood.
The Ambassador undertook in reply to disclaim any purpose of his Government
to send him to me to enter into the long examination to which he was subjecting
me when interrupted. He then repeated that his Government was entirely satisfied
with the situation following the reiteration of the status quo in respect to
the Netherlands Indies by each of the four governments interested, and that
it had no purpose to raise any further controversy in that connection unless
perchance the British or French should ,land troops there to protect them. I
remarked that, since my Government was interested, I had made inquiries of the
British and the French, and gathered the unequivocal understanding that they
had no idea whatever to intervene in the Netherlands East Indies in any way.
The Ambassador then made some reference to the Monroe Doctrine in connection
with the West Indies situation, and I replied that I had seemingly in vain sought
to point out to his Government that, under the Monroe Doctrine, his country's
merchant ships have equal access to every harbor in the Western Hemisphere (not
including a special arrangement between the United States and Cuba), while under
the policy which his Government is seeking to impose in the Pacific Ocean area,
the United States and other countries are to be denied equality of trade and
industrial opportunity in every Chinese port, and yet his Government seems to
look with complacency on this conflicting situation.
I again brought to his attention the information contained in the news ticker
report today from Tokyo, in which Japanese newspapers, as stated, were undertaking
to keep alive and emphasize some supposed special interests of Japan in the
Netherlands East Indies. I said it seemed very surprising to observe that, after
the Japanese Government had undertaken to spread itself out over the huge republic
of China, there was an intimation in the news reports that it would not be content
unless it extended itself three thousand miles beyond to modestly take in the
great archipelago comprising the East Indies, presumably with a view of shutting
out all equality of trade opportunities among nations, while Japan would continue
to demand equality of trade opportunities in every other part of the world;
that there did not exist any selfish or other reason on the part of other nations
to interfere in the least with equality of trade opportunities on the part of
Japan. The Ambassador again stated that his Government was satisfied about the
Netherlands East Indies situation in the light of the renewed promises of each
of the three other governments interested, and that they had no plans or purposes
to proceed there to attack the Netherlands East Indies. I expressed my satisfaction
with his statement, but again reminded him of my difficulty to understand the
policy of the Japanese Government or the Japanese press, whichever it was, to
continue various lines of discussion indicating a claim to some sort of special
interest of Japan in the Netherlands East Indies situation; that in a recent
statement, I had set forth rather comprehensively and succinctly the position
of this Government that the status quo should be respected and preserved by
each of the four governments; that the real question presented actually related
to the entire Pacific area and that no further elaboration beyond my recent
statement on this subject would appear to add to anything I then said.
I still interpret the Ambassador's visit as one under instructions to develop
a pretext to support Japan in connection with its plans and purposes toward
the Netherlands East Indies.
C [ORDELL] H [ULL]
Source: U.S., Department of State, Publication 1983, Peace and War: United States Foreign Policy, 1931-1941 (Washington, D.C.: U.S., Government Printing Office, 1943, pp. 531-35
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