On December 14th Mr. Hamilton of the State Department handed 
      to the British Ambassador two communications regarding the situation 
      in Borneo. The first of these communications stated that the 
      Commander-in-Chief of the United States Asiatic Fleet had suggested 
      to the British authorities at Batavia that steps should be taken 
      forthwith to effect the demolition of the oil fields in Borneo 
      with the exception of those at Balikpapan and that preparations 
      should be made to effect the demolition of the latter oil fields 
      in the near future. The communication went on to say that in 
      the view of the State Department the British, United States and 
      Dutch Governments all had common interest in seeing that the 
      oil fields in Borneo did not pass into the possession of their 
      common enemy and that if there was any risk of this happening 
      the most effective means possible should be taken of rendering 
      the oil fields unusable. The question when such demolition should 
      be taken was one which depended upon military considerations 
      and could best be decided by the naval and military authorities 
      on the spot. The communication ended by saying that the United 
      States Government was convinced that the British and Dutch Governments 
      shared their view that it was to the common interest that every 
      reasonable and practicable precaution should be taken to ensure 
      that propre precautionary measures were carried out in time.
 
      
 
 
The second communication ran as follows:-
 
      
 
 
"In/