Chinese troops in Kham were also ejected. An
expedition was sent from Szechuan and Yunnan to Tibet, but Great
Britain protested and caused its withdrawal.
In August, 1912, the British Minister in Peking presented a
Memorandum to the Chinese Government outlining the attitude of
Great Britain towards the Tibetan question. China was asked to
refrain from dispatching a military expedition into Tibet, as the
re-establishment of Chinese authority would, it is stated,
constitute a violation of the Anglo-Chinese Treaty of 1906.
Chinese suzerainty in regard to Tibet was recognized. But Great
Britain could not consent to the assertion of Chinese sovereignty
over a State enjoying independent treaty relations with her. In
conclusion, China was invited to come to an agreement regarding
Tibet on the lines indicated in the Memorandum, such agreement to
be antecedent to Great Britain's recognition of the Republic.
Great Britain also imposed an embargo on the communications
between China and Tibet via India.
In deference to the wishes of the British Government, China at
once issued orders that the expeditionary force should not proceed
beyond Giamda. In her reply she declared that the Chinese
Government had no intention of converting Tibet into another
province of China and that the preservation of the traditional
system of Tibetan government was as much the desire of China as of
Great Britain.
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