Cablegram 169 CANBERRA, 9 July 1947, 2.20 p.m.
SECRET
Canberra Conference on Japanese Settlement
Your D.586 and D.587, and New Zealand telegram to you No. 137.
1. We agree that the exchange of views on treatment of Japan should deal with major issues on broad lines, but would hope the discussions would provide guidance for later study and inter- Commonwealth exchanges on the detailed aspects you refer to.
Moreover, preparations for the conference should result in officials who may attend as advisers being in a position to exchange a good deal of information on technical aspects while in Canberra.
2. We also entirely agree with the New Zealand comment on additional items, and feel it important that the opportunity should not be missed to discuss matters of special regional significance, such as the Trusteeship Agreement for Nauru, and the Pacific bases, in relation to which joint British Commonwealth action has already been approved in principle at the Prime Ministers’ Conference.
3. The two points concerning Japan specially mentioned by New Zealand (termination of occupation and relation of control [1] to United Nations) are clearly of great importance, and we are giving consideration to them so that they also can be discussed at the Canberra conference.
4. We are telegraphing separately to United Kingdom and New Zealand as regards particular aspects of Nauru question.
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1 New Zealand’s cablegram 137 to Addison(134 to Canberra)of 5 July had proposed discussing ‘the future relation of Japan to the United Nations and the relation of the future security arrangements for Japan to security arrangements under the United Nations’.
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[AA: A1068, P47/10/61, iii]