501.BC Indonesia/9–1748
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
| Participants: | Mr. Dirk Uipko Stikker, Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs |
| Dr. N. Blom, Legal Adviser to the Netherlands Ministry of Overseas Territories | |
| Mr. E. N. van Kleffens, Ambassador of the Netherlands | |
| The Secretary The Under Secretary | |
| Mr. Hickerson, Director, Office of European Affairs | |
| Mr. Butterworth, Director for Far Eastern Affairs |
The Netherland Foreign Minister called accompanied by Ambassador van Kleffens and Dr. Blom. The Foreign Minister explained that the Netherland Cabinet attached such importance to current developments in Indonesia that it decided that he must seek this opportunity to lay before the Secretary the point of view of the Dutch Government. He pointed out that although the present Cabinet was only seven weeks old, it enjoyed the support of two-thirds of the States General which was a larger majority than had heretofore prevailed. He went on to say that there were developing factors in the Indonesian situation that were both favorable and unfavorable. As to the former, he mentioned the recent discussions with the Bandung States in The Hague and the indications that Hatta had taken steps to let the Netherlands Government [Page 344] know that he was desirous of a reasonable settlement. As regards the latter, he emphasized the menace of Communism and the growth of this malignancy in the Netherlands East Indies and other parts of Southeast Asia. He also expressed a willingness on the part of the Netherlands Government to join with the United States in its fight against Communism. The Foreign Minister then turned to the Cochran proposals and expressed on behalf of his Government surprise that these had been presented without prior informal consultation with representatives of the Netherlands Government and indicated that the Netherlands Government previously had been led to believe that such consultation was contemplated. Turning to the proposals themselves, the Netherland Foreign Minister said that there was a good deal in the proposals which was acceptable to the Netherlands Government; that there were some provisions about which they were doubtful; and there were other provisions which the Netherlands Government did not see how it could accept since, speaking quite frankly, his Government in its opinion could not get the two-thirds majority in the States General which was required for approval of any such scheme. Accordingly, his Government regarded this as a very serious matter. He then read a series of points and discussed each briefly; these were the same points as appear in the attached document which Dr. Blom later handed to Mr. Butterworth and are attached herewith.1
After the usual pleasantries, I pointed out that with my present preoccupations, I had not been able to give personal attention to the details of the recent proposals but I indicated that I had been following the course of events in the Netherlands Indies with attentive interest for some years. I made reference to my contact with Mr. Van Mook, discussions which I had had in Nanking with the Netherland Minister there and subsequent developments with the Linggadjati and Renville Agreements and in the Security Council. I indicated that Mr. Lovett who had followed the details of these negotiations would be prepared to discuss them with the Foreign Minister, but I felt that I should point out to him that, for my part, I was very impressed by the fact that for the first time all the elements of the American Government concerned with this problem both in the Netherlands Indies and here were unanimous in regarding the proposals as fair and in their conviction that it was of the utmost importance to act promptly. I then drew on my own experience as a mediator and also indicated to the Foreign Minister that we were no less alive and combative in our attitude to Communism than he and his colleagues were. At the same time, I mentioned the Philippines to cover the point of the importance [Page 345] of the spirit of nationalism and went on to discuss the very great political difficulties which we had with Congress as regards the ERP program indicating how it at times had seemed impossible of accomplishment and, in this connection, mentioning also the problems that lay ahead for future programs. The meeting adjourned to Mr. Lovett’s office.