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89
The Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs to the Prime Minister of New Zealand

Circular telegram. japan.

My telegram [No. 87], paragraph 7, and my telegram [No. 88], paragraph 5.

The following further telegram dated 5 December has now been received from Lord Halifax:

‘Welles has just telephoned to say that the President has changed his mind and wished to suspend decision about conveying assurances to Thailand, in the sense of paragraph 7 of [No. 87], until he has decided about the message to the Emperor. He will discuss the question with me again when he has made up his mind about the Emperor. I am trying to see someone to whom I can point out the dangers of delay, both of the assurance to Thailand and of a communication in some form to the Japanese.

‘2. This is most annoying. Nevertheless, in view of the urgency of the situation revealed in recent Bangkok telegrams,¹ I do not think you need hesitate about giving an assurance to Thailand on behalf of His Majesty's Government if you want to, since the United States attitude to a Japanese invasion of Thailand is, in my opinion, now sufficiently clear.’