Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Far East: China, Volume VII

893.30 Mission/4–847

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Ringwalt) to the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Vincent)

[Washington,] April 8, 1947.

Subject: Naval Advisory Group.

Reference my memorandum of April 3³¹ on the above subject, copy attached.

Captain Fenno called this morning and brought with him Navy’s draft of an agreement³² to be negotiated with the Chinese Government for the establishment of a naval advisory group. I am now studying his draft in connection with the combined War and Navy draft agreement³³ which was tentatively approved on a working level by the three Departments concerned last autumn.³⁴

In brief, the position of War and Navy in regard to a separate agreement is as follows:

1. War position

a. War would prefer the immediate negotiation of a joint agreement under the authority of the President’s emergency powers.

b. If State is not prepared to recommend such a joint agreement at this time War would prefer to operate as at present without an agreement for the time being and await Congressional reaction to the Military and Naval Missions Bill. If it appears that the Bill will not pass during the present session then War would sponsor a joint agreement under the emergency powers.

c. However, if State Department desires that a naval advisory group be formalized immediately War will consider State’s position as overriding War’s objection to a separate Navy agreement.

2. Navy position

a. Navy of course prefers a separate agreement which has legal basis in Public Law 512 and which authorizes not only an advisory group but also the transfer of ships and material to China. A joint agreement based on a Military and Naval Missions Bill could only deal with training missions and could not touch joint transfer of material as the Military and Naval Missions Bill does not authorize such transfers. The only benefit which Navy hopes to obtain from the passage of the Military and Naval Missions Bill is the clause authorizing Navy personnel to accept additional emoluments from the foreign government concerned.

b. It is now Navy’s position that the submission to the Chinese Government of a separate agreement for a naval advisory group awaits only

(1) approval by State of a separate agreement;

(2) approval by State of Navy’s draft, and

(3) issuance by the President of the Executive Order implementing Public Law 512.

A[rthur] R. R[ingwalt]

31. Ante, p. 954.
32. Not found in Department files.
33. Foreign Relations, 1946, vol. x, p. 830.
34. For Department’s instructions, see telegram No. 768, September 19, 1946, 8 p.m., to the Ambassador in China, ibid., p. 845, and subsequent correspondence.