711.53/49: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Portugal (Norweb)
1703. Your 1749, June 7, 6 p.m. The Department understands the problem ahead respecting use of Santa Maria and this is under active discussion.
We are moving rapidly for early conclusion of supply purchase agreement but the Department is not convinced it is yet necessary to make use of any assurance respecting Timor expedition. If we can continue to attain our ends without using this it will be preferable to withhold assurance until urgent necessity may require its use. The Department would appreciate your opinion as to this, particularly in the light of final sentence of Love’s64 292 of June 9 to War Department65 which indicates that our use of Santa Maria may hang upon such assurance. The Military Attaché’s information (your 1763, June 8, 1 p.m.) is substantially correct, but the Department understands that we are in a position to tell Salazar, should it become necessary to do so, that this Government would not object to Portuguese participation in eventual Timor expedition. The Department believes you should not divulge this at this time, especially to your British colleague.
Please furnish your opinion whether Love’s anxiety is justified. We certainly expect to exercise wartime command control and operations control in Santa Maria and it is imperative to avoid permitting the British to bring the additional field within their agreement with the Portuguese in any way. Additional instructions will be furnished you as soon as possible fully outlining our wartime and postwar desires.
As to construction, it is the Department’s understanding that our authorities would prefer to have Army engineers handle this without cover, but are prepared to use the Panair guise if necessary. It is considered definitely undesirable to have the Portuguese construct the field themselves.
Do you consider the Portuguese seriously intend to pay for the construction?