Far Eastern (Official) Committee

Minutes of meetings of the Committee, and Committee papers on various South East Asian States (China, Japan, Siam, etc)

Further papers on the Far Eastern (Official) Committee can be found in the Burma Office Annual Files at IOR/M/3/1430 and in the Political (External) Collections at IOR/L/PS/12/4567. Minutes of meetings and papers from the Far Eastern (Official) Committee from 1945 to 1952 can be found at The National Archives, references CAB 134/277-292

Unrestricted

The Far Eastern Committee originally met between October 1940 and December 1941 with the aim of organising measures to facilitate resistance to Japan if the need arose, and to diminish her war potential. Concerns over deteriorating relations with the United States and a desire to encourage closer co-operation between the UK and the US in the Far East led to it being reconstituted in November 1944. In August 1945 it became the Far Eastern (Official) Committee, with the general task of keeping under review and advising upon the Far Eastern and Pacific policy of the UK Government, with special regard to the desirability of close co-operation with the Dominions, the Government of India and foreign governments which had interests in the Far East and Pacific areas. The Committee was also given the special tasks of co-ordinating action on matters in the Far East and Pacific areas which affected foreign policy and which concerned different departments of UK government, of considering the future of Siam and Indo-China, of promoting co-operation with the United States in post-war reconstruction in the Far East and Pacific, and of studying and advising on questions relating to the peace settlement with Japan and Siam and on post-war reconstruction in the Far East and Pacific areas. The Committee initially formed an Economic Sub-Committee to study UK interests in China and Siam, examine the implications of territorial changes in the Far East, and consider such economic questions affecting the policy in the Far east and Pacific areas of the UK Government, as may be referred to it by the main Committee.