§ 40. Mr. MANDERasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any statement to make with regard to the position in the Far East; and whether any action has recently been taken by the League of Nations Advisory Committee in conection with the subject?
§ Sir J. SIMONOn the 17th of April the Japanese military authorities announced that Chinwangtao had been evacuated by the Chinese troops and occupied by Japanese railway guards. 23 Japanese or Manchukuo troops were also reported to have occupied Anshan, a station on the Peking-Mukden railway west of Changli.
In reply to an inquiry addressed to him on my instructions by His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Tokyo, the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs stated, on the 21st April, that the Japanese advance within the Wall had been made necessary by what he described as provocative action on the part of the Chinese, but added that the Japanese had no intention of advancing beyond the Luan River unless they were forced to do so by further provocations. As soon as the situation was settled the Japanese troops would be withdrawn outside the Wall. The Advisory Committee of the League of Nations on the Sino-Japanese dispute appointed, on the 15th of March, two subcommittees, one to consider the problem of the exportation of arms to the Far East, and the other to make recommendations as to the manner in which effect should be given to the recommendation of the Assembly that no recognition should be extended to the present de facto situation. I am informed that the Secretariat of the League is actively engaged in collecting the material for the consideration of the latter sub-committee. As regards the first sub-committee I have nothing to add to the reply given to the hon. Member for Westhoughton (Mr. R. Davies) on the 29th of March last.