1941年下半年間的英美煙公司案，並非日本單方面對英國在華條約通商權利 的刁難阻礙，而是當時英國與日本之間緊張氛圍的具體寫照。受到美、英等國對 日禁運政策與經濟制裁的影響，日本在華當局亟思採取報復措施，乃劍指在華擁 有龐大利益的英美煙公司。日本當局一方面透過諸多手段，例如凍結銀行帳戶， 禁止對外銷售與運輸，藉此強迫該公司接受日本入股，組成英日聯合股份有限公 司，由日本顧問主導營運，以便迎合日本利益；另一方面，進而提出彼此交換被 凍結資金的解套方案，以及以該公司在華被凍結的資金，換取日本在海外被凍結 的資金。日本打的如意算盤，乃是意圖藉由此番操作，既可突破美英凍結措施與 經濟制裁，使得被凍結的資金得以解凍，並迂迴換回戰略物資，又可以變相在華 取得英美煙公司的經營權，真可謂是一箭雙雕。 從英國政府對英美煙公司案的反應與態度可以看出，太平洋戰爭爆發前夕， 英、日之間關係已生變化，彼此針鋒相對，透過凍結資產與經濟制裁等種種手 段，無所不用其極地壓縮對方的活動空間。角力過程中，雙方底牌盡出，所採取 的舉措，似乎已不再是過去虛張聲勢、點到為止；相反地，在互動間更多地流露 出的，乃是日益堅定的立場與不妥協性。或許這也意謂，當時外交上能夠斡旋折 衝的餘地可能已經不太多了。

The freezing of the British American Tobacco Company’s (B.A.T.) assets in China by the Japanese authorities in 1941 was not a unilateral obstruction to the British treaty rights in China, but a clear indication of increasing tensions between Great Britain and Japan at the time. After the United States and Great Britain implemented a policy of embargo and sanctions against Japan, the Japanese authorities in China were considering reprisals against the British interests, and the B.A.T., one of the most influential enterprises in China, was chosen as the target. The Japanese authorities took strong measures, such as freezing assets and bank accounts and prohibiting sale and shipping, to force the B.A.T. to yield to their demand, namely the formation of a Japanese-British joint company controlled by Japanese advisers. Yet at the same time, Japan also proposed an exchange of frozen assets of the B.A.T. in China for the Japanese ones in the United States. The Japanese calculated that this might breakup the embargo and sanctions, release their frozen assets overseas and use them to obtain strategic materials, and allow for a control of the B.A.T. Great Britain’s response and attitude toward this case suggests that the British- Japanese relations were deteriorating in the second half of 1941. Both sides tried their best to depress the other’s interests and business space. The methods that they took were no longer the moderated and bluffing ones of the past, but a quasi-showdown. This kind of uncompromising tendency revealed a diminishing room for diplomatic maneuvers between the two nations.

英美煙公司; 禁運政策; 英日貿易衝突; 英國對日外交

British American Tobacco Company (B.A.T.); embargo policy; British-Japanese trade confrontation; Britain’s diplomacy with Japan