SWNCC Files: Series 59
Memorandum by the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee to the Joint Chiefs of Staff 8
SWN–4759
Subject: Draft Trusteeship Agreement
| References: | a. SWNCC 59/4 |
| b. SWNCC 59/5 |
The State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee has developed draft terms of a trusteeship agreement for exploratory purposes only. The draft agreement has been drawn for application to the ex-Japanese mandates. It is believed, however, that substantially the same text could be used in the case of a strategic trusteeship agreement applied to any other area.
The Joint Chiefs of Staff are requested, as a matter of priority, to submit comments from a military point of view on the merits of the [Page 628] enclosed draft as a trusteeship agreement and particularly for its adequacy for protection of security interests.
In the event that this form of a trusteeship agreement is unacceptable from a military point of view, it is requested that the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee be advised of the specific respects in which it is unacceptable.
It is not intended that the submission by the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee or consideration by the Joint Chiefs of Staff of this draft agreement shall prejudice the ultimate decision as to whether the strategic control desired by the United States over former Japanese-held islands is to be accomplished through sovereignty or through United Nations trusteeship.
Secretary
- This paper was circulated by the Secretariat of the State-War-Navy Coordinating Committee on September 20 to the Committee as SWNCC document 59/6. There was no covering substantive memorandum and this paper constituted Enclosure “B” of 59/6; Enclosure “A” consisted of the draft terms of agreement as revised, not printed.↩