890.20/3–2849
The Chargé in the Philippines (Lockett) to the Secretary of State
No. 344
[Received April 8.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Embassy’s despatches no. 314 of March 21, 1949, entitled “Reaction in the Philippines to the Proposed North Atlantic Treaty,” no. 319 of March 21, 1949, entitled “Proposed Pacific Pact,” no. 330 of March 24, 1949, entitled “Further Comment on the Proposed Pacific Pact,” to the Embassy’s telegrams no. 730 and no. 745 of March 21,1 and to the Department’s telegram of March 23 and to transmit additional Manila press comment and editorial opinion relating to the proposed Pacific pact.2
The news received from Washington that Secretary of State Dean Acheson, at a press conference on March 22 [23], stated that the Department of State is not yet ready to consider a Pacific pact3 apparently has not dampened the ardor of the advocates of the pact to any perceptible degree as yet. President Quirino, on Saturday night, March 26, in an address at the inauguration ceremony of the new club house of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, renewed his appeal for a Pacific pact and declared that the United States cannot afford to neglect the Pacific basin, which is “the richest and most important area in the world today.” The President reiterated his belief that the leadership in the proposed Pacific pact should come from the United States and not from a Far Eastern country. If the President was quoted correctly on this specific point, what he apparently had [Page 1128] reference to was a recent statement of Nehru’s to the effect that the leadership of the Pacific alliance should come from an Asiatic country.
The Manila Bulletin, in a front-page article by Ralph G. Hawkins, on Monday, March 28, entitled “Envoy’s Report on Pact Bid Reaction,” indicated that President Quirino had received favorable reports from Philippine diplomatic emissaries abroad concerning the reaction to his proposal. The first sentence in the Bulletin article states “Ambassador Joaquin Elizalde, reporting from Washington, said President Quirino’s proposal for a defense pact among Pacific countries, similar to the North Atlantic Pact recently consummated, had found favorable reaction in official and public circles in the United States.” This statement, coming from a usually reliable source, ties in interestingly with the information conveyed in the Department’s telegram of March 23. Apparently, Elizalde, while minimizing the importance of talk about a Pacific pact to the Department in Washington, may be sending the President rosy reports of Washington reaction so as to please him.…
It is the Embassy’s considered opinion that the proposed Pacific pact has aroused genuine interest here both in official and unofficial circles. Few Filipinos hold out much hope that such a pact will materialize, but most of them would, from all indications, be very agreeable to such a pact. The average Filipino, be he in high or low position, is today vitally concerned with the question of security in the face of possible outside aggression, and if the proposed pact were to hold any assurances of protection against outside aggression, then he would most certainly be for the pact.
Press articles concerning the President’s most recent statement on the pact and the Bulletin article referred to above, as well as other press and editorial comment on the pact, are enclosed for the information of the Department.
Respectfully yours,