January–August 1958, Background of the Taiwan Strait Crisis: Possible Renewal of the Ambassadorial Talks; Secretary of State Dulles’ Visit to Taiwan in March 1958; U.S. Concern With Growing Tension in the Taiwan Area


2. Letter From the Ambassador to Yugoslavia (Rankin) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson)

Source: Department of State, FE Files: Lot 60 D 90, Rankin. Confidential. Marked for action by the Office of Chinese Affairs. Rankin had headed the Embassy in Taipei from August 1950 through December 1957 as Chargé d’Affaires ad interim until April 1953, and thereafter as Ambassador.


3. Letter From the Under Secretary of State (Herter) to President Chiang

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.5–MSP/2–1158. Secret.


4. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to Secretary of State Dulles

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/2–2458. Secret. Drafted by Clough and Lutkins and cleared with EUR.


6. Memorandum of Conversation

Source: Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199. Secret. Drafted by Reinhardt and Robertson. Secretary Dulles visited the Republic of China March 14–15 following his attendance at the SEATO Council Meeting in Manila, March 11–13.


7. Despatch From the Embassy in the Republic of China to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/4–358. Secret; Limit Distribution. Drafted by Drumright.


9. Notes of the Meeting of the Operations Coordinating Board

Source: Department of State, OCB Files: Lot 62 D 430, OCB Preliminary Notes. Secret. The document is headed “Preliminary Notes of OCB Meeting, April 16, 1958.”


10. Letter From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to the Ambassador to the Republic of China (Drumright)

Source: Department of State, FE Files: Lot 60 D 90, Drumright. Secret; Official–Informal.


12. Telegram From the Embassy in the Republic of China to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.5/5–1058. Secret; Limit Distribution. Passed to CINCPAC/POLAD.


13. National Intelligence Estimate

Source: Department of State, INRNIE Files. Secret. A note on the cover sheet reads as follows:

“Submitted by the Director of Central Intelligence.

“The following intelligence organizations participated in the preparation of this estimate: The Central Intelligence Agency and the intelligence organizations of the Departments of State, the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and The Joint Staff.

“Concurred in by the Intelligence Advisory Committee on 13 May 1958. Concurring were The Director of Intelligence and Research, Department of State; the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, Department of the Army; the Director of Naval Intelligence; the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, USAF; and the Deputy Director for Intelligence, The Joint Staff. The Atomic Energy Commission Representative to the IAC and the Assistant Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, abstained, the subject being outside of their jurisdiction.”


14. Letter From the Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (Clough) to John B. Dexter at the Consulate General in Geneva

Source: Department of State, Geneva Talks Files: Lot 71 D 368. Confidential; Official-Informal. Drafted by Lutkins. Dexter had been assigned to the Consulate General to serve as interpreter for the U.S.–PRC talks.


16. Memorandum of Conversation Between Secretary of State Dulles and Foreign Minister Couve de Murville

Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, General Memoranda of Conversation. Confidential. Drafted by Dulles. The Secretary visited Paris July 3–6.


18. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/7–1758. Confidential. Drafted by Lutkins, cleared with EUR, and approved by Robertson. Also sent to Warsaw and repeated to Geneva and Bern.


19. Special National Intelligence Estimate

[Source: Department of State, INRNIE Files. Top Secret. Not declassified in time for publication; the full text is in the Supplement.]


20. Telegram From the Embassy in the Republic of China to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/7–3058. Secret; Priority. Also sent to CINCPAC.


21. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Poland

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.93/7–2858. Confidential. Drafted by Lutkins, cleared with EUR, and approved by Robertson. Repeated to Geneva and Bern.


22. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to Acting Secretary of State Herter

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.61/8–158. Secret. Drafted by Marshall Green, Regional Planning Adviser in the Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs; Josiah W. Bennett, Officer in Charge of Political Affairs in the Office of Chinese Affairs; and Lutkins. A notation on the source text reads: “Noted. C.A.H.”


23. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Republic of China

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/8–258. Secret; Priority. Drafted by Lutkins, cleared in substance with INR, and approved by Robertson. Repeated to CINCPAC.


24. Telegram From the Commander, U.S. Taiwan Defense Command (Smoot) to the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Stump)

Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 218, JCS Records, 381 Formosa (11–8–48), Sec. 37. Secret; Priority. Received by CNO at 6:16 p.m. Repeated to CINCPACFLT and COMSEVENTHFLT; repeated from CINCPAC to CNO and from CNO to State, OSD/ISA, Air Force, JCS, Army, and CIA.


25. Telegram From the Embassy in the Republic of China to the Department of State

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/8–758. Secret. Received at 3:20 a.m. Repeated to CINCPAC.


27. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Robertson) to Secretary of State Dulles

Source: Department of State, FE Files: Lot 60 D 90, Nationalist China. Secret. Drafted by Lutkins. The documents cited in footnotes 25 below are in the Supplement.


28. Memorandum of Meeting

Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.00/8–1158. Secret. Drafted by Fisher Howe on August 11. Howe sent the memorandum to Herter with a covering note dated August 13. The time of the meeting is taken from Dulles’ appointment diary. (Princeton University, Dulles Papers)


29. Memorandum of Conference With President Eisenhower

Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries. Secret. Prepared by Goodpaster. The time of the meeting is taken from Eisenhower’s appointment diary. (Ibid., President’s Daily Appointments)