Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Africa and South Asia, Volume XI, Part 1

745A.5/12–1352: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Embassy in India

confidential

Washington, December 17, 1952—5:02 p.m.

1759. 1. Basis R. K. Nehru’s remarks (Embtel 2433),¹ Dept assumes GOI recd garbled report Govt SoAfr Gazette announcement Oct 17.

a. SoAfr announced that Govt had allocated forty million pounds for procurement in US and UK, procurement in US to be under Section 408(e) agmt.² Assume major portion allocated for procurement in UK since total value firm requests to US only few thousand dols (FYI less than $50 thousand).

b. US-So Afr agmt under Section 408(e) of MDAA of 1949 signed Nov 9, 1951³ substantially similar to US-Ind agmt of Mar 16, 1951.⁴ SoAfr promised use equip “to foster internatl peace and security within framework of Charter of UN” in support of purpose and principles of Charter and that equip “required for and will be used solely to maintain its internal security, its legitimate self-defense, or to permit it to participate in the defense of the area of which it is a part, or in UN collective security arrangements and measures and that it will not undertake any act of aggression against any other state”.

2. No evidence that intensity racial conflict in SoAfr is related to state of SoAfr’s defenses. Dept considers R. K. Nehru’s line of reasoning tenuous and does not accept suggestion US-SoAfr agreement and recent GA action at odds with each other.

Dept believes undesirable engage prolonged discussion GOI this subj. Ind Amb has not yet approached Dept.

Foregoing FYI and for use in informal reply R. K. Nehru ur discretion. Report action taken.⁵

Bruce

1. Dated Dec. 13, supra.
2. Reference is to the Mutual Defense Assistance Act of 1949. For text of the act, see 63 Stat. 714.
3. The agreement consisted of an exchange of notes in Washington between Acting Secretary of State James E. Webb and the Union of South Africa Charge, Jarvie. For a description of the agreement, see the editorial note Foreign Relations, 1951, vol. v, p. 1459. For the text of the notes, see TIAS No. 2424; 3 UST 2565.
4. For the text of the Indian and U.S. notes exchanged in Washington on Mar 16, 1951, see 2 UST 872–874.
5. On Dec. 31, 1952, Ambassador Bowles reported that he had conveyed the substance of Department telegram 1759 during conversations with the Secretary General of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and with Foreign Secretary R. K. Nehru. The Foreign Secretary responded that any increase in the military effectiveness of South Africa could be used to prejudice the position of nonwhites. Bowles informed the Department that a prolonged discussion was avoided. (Telegram 2605 from New Delhi; 745A.5/12–3152)