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

9 — The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to the Governor-General of New Zealand1

9
The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to the Governor-General of New Zealand1

3 August 1940

Your telegram of 30 July repeating the message sent to the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia concerning relations with Japan.

page 16

We are sorry to learn from your telegram that the New Zealand Government do not view with sympathy the policy which we adopted in relation to Japanese demands regarding the Burma Road.

We realised throughout that the New Zealand Government were in principle opposed to a policy of concession to the aggressors, but we had gathered, after the full explanation as to the particular case which was communicated to you through our High Commissioner in our telegram of 14 July [No. 6], that the New Zealand Government acquiesced in the line which we were taking.

We do not regard our yielding to the Japanese demands in relation to the Burma Road as in the nature of ‘appeasement’ but rather as a retreat under force majeure in accordance with general advice which, it will be remembered, was given to us by the United States Government.

It is our constant endeavour to consult and inform Dominion Governments as fully as possible on questions of major policy affecting the Far East, and we welcome an expression of the New Zealand Government's views at all times. But it will be appreciated that occasions arise, especially under the present conditions, when the need for immediate action precludes our consulting the Dominion Governments as fully as we should wish.

1 Repeated to the Commonwealth of Australia.