Foreign Office, December 8th.
Sir,
On the evening of the 7th December His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom learnt that Japanese forces, without previous warning either in the form of a declaration of war or of an ultimatum with a conditional declaration of war, had attempted a landing on the coast of Malaya and bombed Singapore and Hong Kong.
In view of these wanton acts of unprovoked aggression, committed in flagrant violation of international law, and particularly of Article 1 of the Third Hague Convention, relative to the opening of hostilities, to which both Japan and the United Kingdom are parties, His Majesty’s Ambassador at Tokyo has been instructed to inform the Imperial Japanese Government in the name of His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom that a state of war exists between the two countries.
I have the honour to be, with high consideration,
Sir,
Your obedient servant,
WINSTON S. CHURCHILL.
翻譯：
12月8日，外交部
閣下，
12月7日晚上，聯合王國國王陛下政府得悉，日本軍隊在沒有宣戰或最後通牒的情況下，試圖登陸馬來亞(Malaya)，並且轟炸新加坡及香港。
此行為公然違反國際法，尤其是日本與聯合王國均已締約的《海牙會議第3公約》第1條有關開戰的規定。國王陛下駐東京大使，謹代表聯合王國國王陛下政府向大日本帝國政府宣布，兩國已進入戰爭狀態。
為閣下致以敬意及關注
永遠的忠僕
邱吉爾 (Winston S.Churchill)