HC Deb 07 May 1936 vol 311 cc1880-1
67. Mr. MANDER

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs the present position with regard to the steps that are being taken for defining the border between Burma and China, the names of the members of the commission undertaking the work, how it has been appointed, and the stage which has been reached?

Viscount CRANBORNE

As regards the first part of the question, a joint Boundary Commission a to deal with this question was set up last year as a result of an exchange of notes between His Majesty's Government and the Government of India on the one hand, and the Chinese Government on the other. The text of these notes was published in a White Paper (Cmd. 4884, 1935). As regards the second and third parts, I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the reply given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for India on 18th December in answer to a question put by the hon. Member for West Fife (Mr. Gallacher), in which the position is fully set forth. As regards the last part, the Commission has been engaged during the recent open season—which lasts from December to the end of April—in examining the section of the frontier in dispute. It will return next open season to complete its work.