841.3393/10–3149
Memorandum by the Acting Secretary of State to President Truman
Subject: British attitude respecting protection of British merchant shipping in China area
Reference is made to my memorandum of October 2092 entitled “British Naval Convoy at Shanghai” outlining the British position with respect to Naval protection for British merchant shipping in the proximity of China. Briefly, the position of the British Government at that time was stated to be as follows: The British Navy is prepared to extend full protection to British merchant vessels as long as they are outside the territorial waters of China, but protection will be extended [Page 1158] to British merchant vessels within the territorial waters of China only in the event of an actual attack or bombing and then only if the ships are not in “confined waters which are Communist dominated.”
The Department has now been informally apprised by an officer of the British Embassy that although the scale and method of naval assistance which the British Government has been prepared to offer remains unchanged, the spirit of the British attitude has been modified with Ministerial approval. Whereas, following the Chinese closure order, British shipping was advised that control to the entrance of the Yangtze by the Nationalists was complete and no encouragement was given to British ships to enter, the successful entrance of the three Isbrandtsen ships led to fresh inquiry from British shipping circles and caused a review of the previous assessment. Consequently, British shipping interests were informed on October 1 that experience had indicated that the closure of Shanghai was not in fact complete and that attempts to enter Shanghai would not embarrass the British Government although shipowners would have to decide for themselves whether voyages were to be attempted.
Under existing circumstances, the British Navy is within its rights under international law in protecting British merchant shipping on the high seas outside Chinese territorial waters. Furthermore, the British Navy would be within its rights under international law in entering Chinese territorial waters to protect British merchant vessels being subjected to unlawful attack. However, under certain circumstances, an attack by Chinese Nationalist forces within Chinese territorial waters might not be unlawful, as for example in the lawful enforcement of Chinese customs regulations, and it cannot be stated without qualification that all attacks may be answered with force. In the British view, territorial waters comprise the waters within a three-mile limit. Although the Chinese Government closure order does not define territorial waters, information available to the Department indicates that the Chinese view is likewise that territorial waters do not extend beyond the three-mile limit.
The American Consulate General at Shanghai has reported information from official British sources that British warships are now patrolling off the mouth of the Yangtze to assure safe passage of British vessels outside the three-mile limit. The Consulate General adds, “It appears that the British intention is to force the issue to a certain extent if not actually to break the blockade.” In the Department’s view the British Government does not intend, for the present at least, to break the “blockade” by force, but it has moved significantly in the direction of encouraging British merchant shipping to defy the “blockade”.
[Page 1159]The British decision to protect British merchant vessels to the extent outlined does not arise from any obligation under international law to take this action but rather from considerations of national policy. The Department has made it clear to the Isbrandtsen Company that British measures with respect to protecting British merchant vessels in no way obligate this Government to undertake similar measures.