86 Commonwealth Government to Lord Cranborne, U.K. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs

Cablegram 6851 CANBERRA, 16 October 1941

MOST SECRET

Your telegrams M.319, M.320 and M.321 of 11th October, 1941. [2]
Commonwealth Government has considered the measures outlined for
expediting the machinery of intergovernmental consultation in the
event of a move by Japan necessitating active military counter
measures. [3] We are taking steps to ensure that immediate
consideration is given to any telegram sent to us in accordance
with the special arrangements adopted and that our views are
communicated to the United Kingdom and Dominion Governments
without delay.

2. We propose to issue instructions to the Australian Ministers at
Washington, Tokyo and Chungking to submit information to us
regarding any move by the Japanese which is considered to
necessitate immediate military counter measures. [4] Any
information of this kind received by the Commonwealth Government
will be telegraphed to London, to Dominion Governments and to the
other authorities referred to in paragraph 7 of your telegram
M.319 and the procedure outlined in your M.320 will be observed.

1 Repeated to the Canadian, N.Z. and South African Prime Ministers
as nos 11, 418 and 80.

2 Cablegrams M319 and M320 are on file AA : A981, Far East 26A,
and M321 is on file AA : A981, Japan 184.

3 See War Cabinet minute 1402 of 15 October in AA : A2673, vol.8.

4 R. G. Casey, F. K. Officer (Charge d'Affaires in Japan) and Sir
Frederic Eggleston were so directed in cablegrams 898, 278 and 7
of 19 October (on file AA : A981, Japan 184). Similar cablegrams
were sent to the Official Representative in New Caledonia (B. C.

Ballard), and to the Administrators at Rabaul (Brig Gen Sir Walter
McNicoll), Port Moresby (H. L. Murray) and Nauru (Lt Col F. R.

Chalmers). See cablegrams 513 of 3 November to Ballard and 240 and
unnumbered of 7 November to the Administrators (on file AA :

A2671, 337/1941).

On 1 December the Legations in Washington, Tokyo and Chungking
were instructed (cablegrams 1030, 306 and 29 on file AA : A3300,
100) that information of the nature described in paragraph 2
should, in the future, be communicated also to the Netherlands
representatives in the countries to which they were accredited.

[AA : A3196, 1941, 0.16538]

Last Updated: 11 September 2013

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86 Commonwealth Government to Lord Cranborne, U.K. Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs