795.00/6–2353
No. 108
The President of the Republic of
China (Chiang Kai-shek) to President Eisenhower1
My Dear President Eisenhower: It appears that a truce in Korea will soon be signed. If this truce is able to end Communist aggression in Asia, it would be a common object of our prayers and a buttress to the faith of the free peoples of Asia in the leadership of the United States. A truce not quite measuring up to such standards may leave the free peoples of this region in utter disillusion and weaken the moral leadership of the American Government. To forestall such an eventuality, may I urge that consideration be immediately given to the issuance of some public statement relative to the following two questions: the Korean war and the general situation in the Far East.
Relative to the Korean war, it is suggested that the American Government (1) will adhere strictly to the objective set by the United Nations for Korea, namely, the establishment of a unified, independent and democratic Korea; (2) will continue to ensure the security of the Republic of Korea through giving her moral support and military assistance in common defense of the United Nations objective and (3) will unfailingly honor the assurance given by the delegate of the United Nations Command to the Panmunjom talks that the scope of any political conference to be held following the truce will be limited to the discussion of Korean questions only.
Relative to the general situation in the Far East, it is recognized that, after the truce, the threat to the security of the Asian countries may yet remain. To cope with possible recurrence of such aggression, the aggregate and individual strength of the free peoples [Page 204] in Asia must be increased. In Europe the NATO has made progress and is on the way to further growth in corporate strength. Now is the time for the American Government to consider giving emphatic assurance to the anti-Communist countries in Asia, more especially those that are under the direct menace of Soviet Russia and Communist China, namely, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of China, Thailand and Indo-China, that they will be given effective aid to increase their military strength for defense. And to ensure the peace of Asia, it appears necessary that the American Government declares to hold itself now ready to conclude bilateral or multilateral mutual security pacts with the directly menaced States mentioned above and that it will in due course help to bring into being a general organization of all anti-Communist countries in Asia.
- This letter was delivered to the Department of State by Ambassador Koo on June 8 and forwarded to the President on June 10.↩