202. Telegram From Secretary of State Dulles to the Department of State0
Dulte 5. Re Dulte 3 and Tedul 6.1 In consultation with Admiral Smoot and General Taylor, and after informing GRC, Ambassador is issuing statement quoting October 8 statement in full and adding, “I am authorized by the Secretary of State to say that the policy and purpose of the United States remains as set forth in that October 8 statement.”
At the Secretary’s suggestion Admiral Smoot is communicating with CNO re ordering resumption escort activity “forthwith to extent necessary”. As Secretary has told Admiral Smoot he considers (1) it desirable await developments re shelling offshore islands in next few days or for as long as Secretary here, before deciding whether to resume escort; (2) if shelling continues after Secretary departs, escort activity should then be resumed.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/10–2258. Secret; Niact.↩
- Dulles stated in Dulte 3 from Taipei, October 21, that he proposed to recall a U.S. statement of October 8 and to say that it still was valid. (Ibid., 793.00/10–2158) The statement issued by the Department of State on October 8 declared, inter alia, that if Chinese Communist attacks were resumed, U.S. escort activity would be “resumed forthwith to the extent necessary.” For text, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, p. 1174. Tedul 6 to Taipei, October 21, stated that the Department and Admiral Burke agreed that this would be useful. (Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/10–2158)↩