Indian Ocean Region
83. Telegram 1110 From the Embassy in the United Kingdom to the Department of State
The Embassy reported British concerns regarding the fate of the air facility on Gan island.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 79 F 134, DEF 15, Diego Garcia. Confidential. It was repeated to Colombo, Bombay, Dhaka, Karachi, Islamabad, Madras, New Delhi, Singapore, and Tehran.
84. Memorandum of Conversation
Secretary of State Kissinger and CENTO Secretary General Haluk Bayulken discussed the state of the alliance and its future organization. They also discussed Pakistani intentions vis-à-vis CENTO. Specifically, Bayulken broached the topic of transforming CENTO into a regional security pact by raising the issue of “Soviet threats by proxy.”
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Secret; Exdis. It was drafted by Terrence Grant (NEA/RA); cleared by Sober; and approved in S on May 3. The conversation took place at a luncheon for Secretary General Bayulken.
85. Telegram 1270 From the Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State
In a conversation with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William Simon, Prime Minister Bandaranaike thanked the United States for 100,000 tons of wheat flour and $8 million in loans for fertilizer. They also discussed general economic topics and the 1971 insurrection in Sri Lanka.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 79 F 134, ORG 7. Confidential. It was repeated to Manila. It was drafted by James Hawley (ECON); cleared in draft by Simon; cleared by Van Hollen; and approved by Byrne.
86. Minutes of the Secretary of State’s Staff Regional Staff Meeting
The Secretary and his principal staff members discussed the Soviet position on the Indian Ocean, the Soviet base at Berbera, and Diego Garcia in relation to international initiatives to remove bases from the Indian Ocean.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Transcripts of Secretary of State Kissinger’s Staff Meetings, 1973–77, Entry 5177, Box 3, Secretary’s Analytical Staff Meetings. Secret. Only portions of the meeting relating to Diego Garcia are published. A previous discussion of the shutdown of Kagnew and the rationale for Diego Garcia’s expansion exists in the Regional Staff Meeting for February 7. (Ibid.)
87. Minutes of the Senior Review Group Meeting
The Senior Review Group met to formulate a policy on the Indian Ocean and Diego Garcia based on the study conclusions from NSSM 199.
Source: Library of Congress, Manuscript Division, Kissinger Papers, Box CL 306, Committees and Panels, Senior Review Group, May–October 1975. Secret; Sensitive. The meeting was held in the White House Situation room. Attached but not printed is the briefing by Colby titled “The Soviet Navy in the Indian Ocean,” predicting a deployment of 10–12 Soviet ships on a continuous basis by 1977 and indicating that one variable determining the rate of a Soviet buildup in the area was United States naval activity. The CIA analysis also pointed out the regional supporters and opponents of the Diego Garcia expansion. (Ibid.) The study responding to NSSM 199 is printed as Document 77. The Presidential Determination regarding Diego Garcia was transmitted to Congress on May 13.
88. Memorandum of Conversation
The CENTO discussion centered around a review of the international situation, and specifically, the question of indirect attacks on CENTO by Soviet proxy states. Secretary of State Kissinger responded at length regarding the United States’ interests in the region.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Records of Henry Kissinger, Entry 403, Box 23, Classified External Memoranda of Conversation, May–December 1975. Secret; Nodis. It was drafted by Peter Rodman (NSC). The meeting took place at CENTO headquarters.
89. Memorandum of Conversation
Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger briefed the President about recent developments regarding Berbera and the status of Diego Garcia funding in Congress.
Source: Ford Library, National Security Advisor, Memoranda of Conversations, 1973–77, Ford Administration, Box 13. Top Secret. The meeting was held in the White House Cabinet Room.
90. Telegram 264692 From the Department of State
In a circular telegram the Department alerted the posts in the Indian Ocean area of the favorable votes in the Senate on Diego Garcia funding, although fiscal-year 1976 funding was delayed.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Manama Embassy Files: Lot 79 F 118, DEF 15, Diego Garcia, 1976. Unclassified. This telegram was sent priority to the following posts: Abu Dhabi, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, Beirut, Blantyre, Cairo, Canberra, Cape Town, Colombo, Dacca, Dar es Salaam, Doha, The Hague, Hong Kong, Islamabad, Jakarta, Jidda, Kabul, Karachi, London, Katmandu, Khartoum, Kuala Lumpur, Kuwait, Lisbon, Lourenco Marques, Lusaka, Manama, Manila, Mogadishu, Moscow, Muscat, Nairobi, NATO, New Delhi, Paris, Peking, Port Louis, Pretoria, Rangoon, Sana, Singapore, Tananarive, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, USUN, Wellington, USCINCEUR, CINCLANT, CINCPAC, CINCPACFLT, CINCUSNAVEUR, COMIDEASTFOR.
91. Telegram 288577 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Sri Lanka
The Department of State responded to Ambassador Van Hollen’s suggestion that the United States should modestly expand its contacts with the Maldives.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 79 F 134, POL, Political Affairs and Relations, 1975. Confidential. In telegram 3716 of November 21, Van Hollen suggested that increased trade with the Maldives would enhance U.S. prestige there. (Ibid.) The Embassy continued to press for expanded contact with the Maldives in telegram 3334, September 3, viewing with sympathy the Maldives’ status as a non-aligned state. (National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 80 F 29, Box 129, POL 1976)
92. Telegram 840 From the Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State
Ambassador Van Hollen reported that he discussed the Soviet base at Berbera with Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Lakshman Jayakody on March 4. Jayakody accepted the information.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 80 F 29, Subject Files, DEF 18–9 Demilitarization and Nuclear Free Zone, 1976. Confidential. It was drafted by Andrew Kay (POL); cleared by Van Hollen; and approved by Perkins. It was repeated to Moscow and New Delhi. In a February 26 speech, Soviet Chairman Brezhnev stated that “The Soviet has never had, and now has no intention whatever of building military bases in the Indian Ocean, and we call on the United States to take the same stand.” Deputy Minister Jayakody noted that this speech had been widely reported in the Sri Lankan press. In telegram 173558 from the Department, July 13, the Embassy was instructed to utilize Congressional testimony on Berbera to further blunt Soviet propaganda on the subject, in light of the impending Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Colombo. (National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files)
93. Memorandum From Richard Boverie of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Scowcroft)
Boverie briefed Scowcroft on the Verification Panel Working Group report and presented Scowcroft with options for drafting a report by April 15 for Congress on the subject of arms limitation in the Indian Ocean. Scowcroft indicated that the report should be sent out for recommendations, but at the same time ordered the drafting of a report to Congress indicating that no new arms limitations policies would be undertaken.
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Institutional Files, Box 32, Persian Gulf Policy, NSSM 238. Secret. Sent for action. Scowcroft approved the first two options. Attached but not printed are Tabs A–C. Portions of the report (at Tab D) of a technical nature are not printed. The VPWG had been proposed by Jan Lodal and approved by Scowcroft in September, 1975. (National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–204, Study Memoranda, 1969–74, NSSMs, NSSM 198–204)
94. Paper Prepared in the Department of State
The Sri Lanka policy paper for 1976 recommended that U.S. interests were best served by supporting the status quo.
Source: Ford Library, National Security Adviser, NSC Staff for Middle East and South Asia Files: Convenience Files, Box 23, Sri Lanka (1). Secret. It was drafted on August 20 by Albert Thibault, Jr. (NEA/INS). The paper was the attachment to an April 23 covering memorandum, suggesting that since there were no policy differences, an Interdepartmental Group meeting was not necessary.
95. Telegram 1387 From the Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State
President Ibrahim Nasir of the Maldives discussed with Ambassador Van Hollen the economic and political problems arising from the British abandonment of Gan, and mentioned Soviet interest in the base. The Embassy recommended that the Department consider the issue carefully, given the proximity of Gan to Diego Garcia.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential. It was repeated to Islamabad, London, New Delhi, Tehran, Moscow, and CINCPAC. It was drafted by Kay (POL); cleared by DATT; and approved by Perkins. Saxbe subsequently reported that India had no interest in the Gan facility and argued that India would resist any Soviet use of Gan. (Telegram 6234 from New Delhi, April 29; Ibid.) The London Embassy assured the Department in telegram 6564, April 29, that Maldivian Vice President Ali Maniku had specifically ruled out any third-party military use of the Gan facility. (Ibid.)
96. Memorandum of Conversation
Secretary of State Kissinger and Ambassador Kanakaratne met and discussed issues related to the Non-Aligned Conference, the Middle East, and voting in the United Nations.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential; Nodis. The meeting took place in the Secretary’s Office. It was drafted by Kux and approved on August 17 in S.
97. Telegram 187309 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Sri Lanka
The Department reported on further conversations between Deputy Assistant Secretary Dubs and British Embassy officials regarding the closure of the British base at Gan. The British stated that it was unlikely that a third party would take up the base, since the British had decided to cooperate with Maldivian demands regarding the base agreement termination.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential. It was drafted by Thibault (NEA/INS); cleared by NEA/INS; and approved by NEA. It was repeated to London, New Delhi and Tehran. Dubs had recently asked the British for assurances regarding the “third party” issue. (Telegram 138954 to London, June 5. National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 80 F 29, Box 129, DEF 15, Diego Garcia)
98. Telegram 3520 From the Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State and the Mission to the United Nations
The Embassy reminded USUN and the Department that attention paid to the small Maldivian delegation to the 31st General Assembly would likely pay dividends.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 80 F 29, Box 129, POL 3, Organizations and Alignments. Confidential. It was drafted by Kay (POL) and approved by Perkins. Telegram 4764 from USUN, October 26, reported that the Maldivian delegates had asserted their independence from Sri Lanka and India at the General Assembly, and while indicating support for the IOPZ, were interested in contact and economic aid from the United States, and viewed Diego Garcia as “a fact of life.” (Ibid.)
99. Telegram 3857 From the Mission to the United Nations to the Department of State
The mission reported that the Ad Hoc Committee of the UN General Assembly on the Indian Ocean Peace Zone had approved a resolution based on a Sri Lankan working paper that avoided mention of Diego Garcia and was, in the view of the mission “moderate” and reflective of the views of “more conservative members of the committee.”
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Limited Official Use. It was repeated to Bonn, Canberra, Colombo, London, Moscow, New Delhi, Ottawa, Paris, Rome, Tehran, The Hague, Tokyo, NATO, and Geneva. The resolution was adopted by the UN General Assembly First Committee on November 29. In telegram 285827, from the Department, November 20, the Department transmitted instructions to abstain on the resulting resolution. (Ibid.) The Soviet Union also abstained. The General Assembly adopted the resolution (31/88) by a vote of 106–0–27 on December 14. (Yearbook of the United Nations Vol. XXX, 1976, pp. 33–35)
100. Memorandum of Conversation
The Secretary of State Kissinger and Prime Minister Bandaranaike discussed U.S. relations with Sri Lanka, focusing on votes in the United Nations and Sri Lanka’s position on regional questions.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential, Nodis. It was drafted on October 4 by Kux and approved on October 28 in S. The meeting took place in the Hotel Carlyle in New York
101. Telegram 249640 From the Department of State to the Embassy in Turkey
The Department reiterated the view that the United States’ commitment to CENTO was limited to threats emanating solely from communist countries.
Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy Files. Confidential; Immediate. It was drafted by Larry Semakis (INR/RA) and Philip Stoddard (INR/RNA); cleared by EUR/SE; and approved by NEA/RA. It was repeated to Islamabad, Tehran, and London.
102. Airgram A–97 From the Embassy in Sri Lanka to the Department of State
The Embassy submitted a report on the ongoing dispute between the Sinhalese and Tamils.
Source: National Archives, RG 84, Colombo Embassy Files: Lot 80 F 29, Box 130, POL 13, 1976, Non-Party Blocs. Confidential. It was drafted by Donald Camp (POL); cleared by ECON and POL; and approved by Perkins. It was repeated to Madras, New Delhi, and London.