Office of the Historian

149. Telegram From the Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State0

Djakarta, August 26, 1958, 6 p.m.

743. CINCPAC also for POLAD. Deptels 3571 and 390.2 Interview with Sukarno lasted 1 hour plus lunch. I expressed fully Department’s [Page 271] reaction Independence Day speech. Sukarno response was he had been misunderstood. He intended no attack on America, although added that he thought America made mistakes, such as going into Lebanon. After discussion pros and cons this issue Sukarno reiterated that he had no intent attack America. Said that in speech in Bandung September 1 he would try “to say something nice about America”. Reverting again to US mistakes cited Marines in Singapore but I believe accepted my statement that their presence there nothing do with Indonesia. Conversation concluded on this note: “You should have no doubt as to how I feel about America. I am sending my son Guntur, whom I love dearly, to America to be educated. Arrangements have already been made through our Embassy in Washington.” Later at luncheon he expressed desire to take ride in C–124 making arms delivery.

Full telegraphic report follows.3

Jones
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.56D/8–2658. Secret; Niact. Repeated to The Hague, Manila, CINCPAC, and Singapore.↩
  2. Document 146.↩
  3. Telegram 390, August 20, requested Jones’ clarification of the assurances that he had received from Indonesian officials at the time of the military sales agreement. The Department indicated that it would appreciate Jones’ recommendations on how to proceed to obtain assurances from Indonesia that the material, equipment, and services that it received from the United States would not be used to obtain control of West New Guinea, if such an assurance had not already been obtained. (Department of State, Central Files, 756D.5–MSP/8–2058) See Supplement.↩
  4. Telegram 744 from Djakarta, August 27. (Department of State, Central Files, 756D.00/8–2758) See Supplement. On August 29, Sukarno took a hour and 20 minute trip with Jones on a U.S. Globemaster aircraft. In telegram 796 from Djakarta, August 29, the Ambassador reported that the flight was a “complete success from standpoint improvement US-Indo relations.” (Department of State, Central Files, 756D.5–MSP/8–2958) See Supplement.↩