811.7490F/11–145: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

9614. Urtel 11003 Oct 20. You are hereby instructed to contact appropriate officials of Brit Govt and convey the substance of the following message on subject of direct radiotelegraph circuit between US and Saudi Arabia.

US Govt appreciates interest the British Govt has shown in this matter and is happy to know that Brit Govt is genuinely interested in coming to an understanding in regard to it.

However, there are certain factors connected with this situation which we would like to mention. To begin with the intimation in above mentioned telegram of Oct 20 that Mr. de Wolf informed Mr. MacLean of Brit Embassy Washington that State Dept on 11 January was “quite prepared to see the American installed transmitter in Saudi Arabia confined to the Saudi Arabia–US circuit leaving the Eastern Telegraph Company in possession of all other traffic” is not accurate. Mr. de Wolf merely informed Mr. MacLean that main interest of US was a Saudi Arabia–US circuit.

The Dept would next like to point out that Saudi Arabian Govt (SAG) may find it uneconomical to maintain a station for sole purpose of communicating with US, and that as a result the future of a station so limited in scope would be uncertain. After station is built it may be necessary for SAG to decide (1) that it cannot afford not to use station for sending and receiving of messages to countries other than US or (2) to abandon this station altogether. In opinion of US Govt it might therefore be unfortunate for SAG at this time to give any definite statements to the effect that in future it would not use proposed station for communication with any other country than US.

Furthermore, US Govt cannot encourage or permanently acquiesce in restrictions upon telecommunications of the type suggested by Brit Govt in urtel 11003 without contravening its basic policy in regard to worldwide telecommunications which is reflected in its refusal to support any US communications company in an effort to enter into contracts of an exclusive nature in countries outside US. It intends at forthcoming Bermuda Conference36 to propose an undertaking by the Govts represented there not to support their communications companies in applications for exclusive contracts in countries outside the US and the British Commonwealth.

In view of considerations advanced above it appears to this Govt that it would be more conducive to a mutually satisfactory solution of this problem if Brit Govt, in instructing Brit Minister at Jidda to inform SAG that Brit Govt would have no objection to the erection and operation of a SAG wireless telegraph station, would add the hope that if at some future date SAG desired to expand the list of [Page 1030] countries covered by the station, SAG would consult with Brit Govt, and such other Govts as may have a direct interest in the change.

In connection with the above US Govt assumes that Brit Govt will raise no objection to the use of this SAG station as an automatic relay for radio messages from US to points in Far East where existing direct radio circuits between US and such Far Eastern points are not satisfactory for technical reasons. Such automatic relay would of course have no effect on traffic arrangements between SAG and other communications companies, notably Cable and Wireless.

For your information the President has indicated his interest in this problem and Dept has asked the Brit Emb here to obtain a commitment from Brit Govt at earliest possible date. In the circumstances it will be appreciated if you will obtain a final confirmation of Brit Govt’s acquiescence to the agreement suggested in this telegram at earliest possible moment. Dept wire to Jidda held pending British reply.

Sent London. Repeated Jidda as Dept’s 321.

Byrnes
  1. The Bermuda Telecommunications Conference which met at Hamilton, Bermuda, from November 21 to December 4, 1945.