Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Asia and the Pacific, Volume VI, Part 1

694.001/11–1451: Telegram

The Ambassador in London (Gifford) to the Secretary of State

confidential niact

London, November 14, 1951—7 p. m.

2337. Fol is text of memorandum on Jap-Formosa relations referred to in immed preceding tel:¹

“The fol points have been agreed at official level on behalf of the Dept of State and of the FonOff for submission to their respective Secretaries of State:

(1) The two govts are agreed that it is important to continue to maintain common front toward Japan on this question as they have on other questions throughout the Japanese peace treaty negots.

(2) Both govts are still of opinion that Japan’s future attitude towards China must necessarily be for determination by Japan itself in the exercise of the sovereign and independent status contemplated by the peace treaty.

(3) In particular both govts recognize the desirability of avoiding any action which at a future date might enable Japan to claim that her attitude to China had been determined for her by one or more of the Allied powers before she cld make the decision herself as an independent sovereign state on the coming into force of the peace treaty.

(4) If, in view of the importance to Japan of regularising her relations with the authorities in Formosa, the Japanese Govt wish, before the peace treaty comes into force, to engage in preliminary discussions with the Chinese Nationalist Govt for this purpose, the USG and HMG in the UK wld have no objection to such action on the part of the Govt of Japan providing that any agreement arising from such preliminary discussions were not concluded until after the multilateral peace treaty had come into force.

(5) The two govts agree that, during the forthcoming visit to Tokyo of Mr. John Foster Dulles, Mr. Dulles and Sir Esler Dening shld discuss within the framework of the above principles the problem of Japan’s relations with Formosa including the attitude to be taken by our respective reps in any discussions they may have with the Japanese Govt on this subject.

Gifford

1. In telegram 2336 of the same date, marked “for Allison from Merchant,” the latter had reported that he and Mr. Ringwalt had had three negotiating sessions with Mr. Scott and his colleagues and had arrived at the tentative agreement printed here. According to Mr. Merchant, Mr. Scott had stated he had no reason to fear Mr. Eden would not approve the agreement. “We have made clear to Scott and he understands that if circumstances radically change this agrmt wld be jointly reconsidered. In this connection I have discussed frankly with him points made by Dulles in his August 9 conversation with Fitzmaurice.” (694.001/11–1451)