289. Airgram From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State1
SUBJECT
- Consultations on Chinese Representation Question
Chinese Permanent Representative Liu hosted a working lunch on June 11, 1970 to discuss the Chinese representation question at the 25th General Assembly with Japanese and U.S. Representatives. Ambassador Liu indicated that the Chinese believe the debate of the Important Question and Albanian-type resolutions would at the present reading result in approximately the same outcome as last year. Factors which might influence a change in position of some delegations include the fact that the 25th Anniversary of the organization may be cited by some as grounds for resolving the status quo. On the other hand, if the Lon Nol government holds out, Cambodia can be expected to shift to the abstention column. Ambassador Liu said he was reasonably encouraged by the apparent lack of progress in the Peking negotiations with Canada and Italy. Ambassador Liu sought the U.S.’s assessment of the likely voting position of Latin Americans, notably Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru. We said it would take effort to keep them in the same columns as last year. We suggested that the Chinese Embassy in Mexico could usefully obtain confirmation of the Mexican government’s support following the Presidential elections.
In reply to Ambassador Liu’s query regarding cosponsors and the introduction of the question in the General Assembly, Japanese Ambassador Tsuruoka said that Japan could cosponsor but would not introduce the resolution.
He said the Japanese press and a number of Diet members including some from the government party were critical of the leading role played by Japan in 1969. With party elections scheduled for this fall and Prime Minister Sato’s continuance in office uncertain, Ambassador Tsuruoka expected he would be instructed to adopt a lower profile.
Mr. Newlin averted to the possibility that some compromise formulation might be introduced in place of the defunct study proposal perhaps in the form of a general resolution deploring the continued [Page 505] absence of mainland China from the United Nations. This kind of general expression of views is likely to be popular with the majority of members, including the Latin Americans, who give varying degrees of support to the universality concept. Chinese Deputy Permanent Representative Chang said everything indicated that Peking would not be interested in such an approach and still held out for the expulsion of the Representatives of the Republic of China.
The participants agreed to maintain close contact through further similar meetings and to the formulation of various contingency plans prior to the 25th General Assembly to cover any likely departures from the established scenario.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Files 1970–73, UN 6 CHICOM. Confidential. Drafted by Frederick H. Sacksteder, Jr., cleared by Kathleen McSweeney, and approved by Michael Newlin. Repeated to Hong Kong, Ottawa, Rome, Taipei, and Tokyo.↩