tion's position in the matter, are enclosed49 for the Department's
information.50
   Respectfully yours,                                  C. E. GAuss

893.113/1579
     The British Ambassador (Lindsay) to the Secretary of State

No. 396                            WASHINGTON, December 12, 1934.
  SIR: I have the honour to refer to the note which you were good
enough to address to me on the 10th August in which you explained
the procedure in force with regard to the export from this country of
arms to China; and, under instructions from His Majesty's Principal
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, to make the following com-
munication in reply--
  2. On Page 7 of your note you explained what the United States
Government regard as military aircraft and you enquired whether
His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom could see their
way to adopt a similar interpretation.
  3. The position in regard to the export of aircraft from Great
Britain to China is that His Majesty's Government do not require
specific licenses to be obtained for the export of unarmed aircraft:
and, consequently, the procedure of ascertaining whether the Nanking
Government approve export is not applied to this material. His
Majesty's Government have in the past been content to divide aircraft
into two categories only, namely, armed and unarmed. This practice
is well established, and arose from the difficulty of obtaining any
exact and comprehensive definition of military aircraft. It enables
an objective test to be applied; and for that reason it has proved
simple and administratively convenient. His Majesty's Government
are of the opinion that any definition which applied a subjective
test, e. g. in regard to the aircraft being presumed to be destined for
military use, would leave too much scope to the diversities of national
or local interpretation.
  4. His Majesty's Government are glad to note that the practice of
the United States Government conform so closely with their own in
the matter of controlling the export of arms to China generally.

49Neither printed.
° The Charg6 in China reported in his despatch No. 3170, December 3,
1934,
that the Consul General at Nanking had been informed at the Chinese Foreign
Office that it had "acted in this matter merely as an intermediary between
the
Ministry of Finance and the Legations," but that the "proposed
change in the
regulations governing the importation of supplies for the foreign armed forces
in China had been immediately due to the actions of the Japanese forces."
(893.113/1581)



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CHINA