30 FOREIGN RELATIONS, 1934, VOLUME III

with,** the spokesman of the Foreign Office in Tokyo observed that the
“Manchukuo” authorities had made it clear that the accession of the
Chief Executive to the throne does not mean the restoration of
the Manchu dynasty of the former Chinese Empire, and he empha-
sized the fact, mentioned to me by Mr. Hirota on December 23, that
there will be no change in the frontiers of the country, so that North
China will in no way be affected.

Passing over the careful stage management of the contemplated
step, it is well to examine the various implications of the move and
the possible future developments to which it may lead, whether or
not these developments already form part of a definite Japanese
program.

It is all very well to announce that there will be no changes in the
frontiers of “Manchukuo”, but as a matter of fact those frontiers
have never been precisely laid down and at present are in parts more
or less undefined. In speaking recently to one of my diplomatic
colleagues, Mr. Hirota assured him that North China need have
no fear of encroachments as a result of the establishment of the
Empire, but when my colleague inquired as to the frontier bordering
on Outer Mongolia, which has never been clearly demarked, the
Minister replied that this would be a matter for future negotiation.
‘The Chahar salient, as I have already pointed out, constitutes a more
or less literal thorn in the flesh, pointing towards the heart of
“Manchukuo”, and it seems unlikely that the Japanese military au-
thorities at least, who are responsible for the safety of that country,
will be content to accept it as a permanent feature of the frontier.

In considering possible revisions of frontiers in other quarters it
is well to remember that the concept of “Manifest Destiny” has
become so well-rooted in Japan as to be a widely-accepted axiom.
The so-called “expansionists” are merely the exponents of a relatively
violent and immediate extension of Japanese control whereas many
of those credited with liberal tendencies accept with equal conviction
the same axiom and differ only in favoring more circumspect, less
hasty or violent means of carrying it into effect. In this program
of expansion it is quite certain that the eventual absorption of Mon-
golia within the sphere of direct Japanese influence plays an important
role for political, strategic and possibly potential economic reasons.
Pu Yi’s enthronement as Emperor may well be calculated to appeal
to the racial sentiments of the Mongols with a view to their eventual
inclusion within the new Empire.

So far as China is concerned, it should not be forgotten that Pu Yi
is still the sole legitimate heir of the former sovereign line of rulers.

* Not printed.