756.94/136
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Under Secretary of State (Welles)
The Minister of Australia called to see me late yesterday evening. He gave me a message he had just received by cable from his Government which read as follows:
“It is felt that if unguarded assurance could be obtained from and publicly stated that the United States of America is not prepared to entertain any attempt at intervention in the Dutch East Indies, it would be most beneficial and welcome.”
I said to the Minister that if I interpreted this message correctly, it was tantamount to a public declaration by the United States that if any other government attempted to intervene in the Netherlands East Indies, the Government of the United States would resist such attempt by force. I said that this Government was not prepared at this time to make such a statement. I reminded the Minister of two public statements made by the Secretary of State in recent days41 with regard to the interest of the United States in the maintenance of the status quo of the Dutch East Indies, and similar declarations to the same effect subsequently by the British and Japanese Governments. I said that the Japanese Government was fully aware of the point of view in this regard of the Government of the United States and that for the moment this Government had nothing further in contemplation.
The Minister inquired whether I had any further news with regard to Japanese intentions in the Pacific. I told the Minister that we had no further information, of a disquieting character at least, and that for the moment, as he knew, the American battle fleet was concentrated at Hawaii.
The Minister gave me a copy of a statement made by the Australian Minister for External Affairs at the opening of the Australian Parliament on May 15, a copy of which is attached herewith.42
[Page 21]The Minister inquired with regard to general developments in Europe and I gave him such information as was at my disposal at that time.
- April 17 and May 11, Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. ii, pp. 281 and 285.↩
- Not printed.↩