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Documents Relating to New Zealand's Participation in the Second World War 1939–45: Volume III

82 — The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to the Prime Minister of New Zealand

82
The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to the Prime Minister of New Zealand

5 December 1941

Circular telegram. My telegram of 4 December [No. 80].

The following telegram dated 5 December has been sent to His Majesty's Ambassador, Washington:

‘1. Your telegram of 3 December (Action in the event of further Japanese aggression).2

‘2. I should like you to express our very deep appreciation for the President's prompt and helpful response. We are particularly grateful for his confirmation of our interpretation of his assurance of support in the circumstances contemplated in my telegram of 30 November [No. 73].

page 91

‘3. As regards the scope of the warning, it would apply to an attack by Japan on Thailand, Malaya, or the Netherlands East Indies, and also to an attack on the Burma Road from Indo-China.

‘4. We are dealing with the Netherlands East Indies aspect (your paragraph 6) separately.

‘5. Our proposed action with regard to Thailand must of necessity be of a forestalling nature. Consequently we cannot technically give the Thais a guarantee of non-aggression. But we do wish to encourage them to resist Japanese encroachment, and we should like therefore to assure them that in the event of attack by Japan we will both help them to the best of our ability.’

2 See No. 80.