893.01/11–849: Telegram
The Ambassador in the Netherlands (Chapin) to the Secretary of State
[Received 12:44 p. m.]
1077. With reference to Embassy’s note of October 256 based on Deptel 922, October 21, note from FonOff received today, after preliminary remarks, says following:
“The note further states that on October 17 the Netherlands Embassy at Washington furnished the Department of State with a copy of the Royal Netherlands note addressed to the Chinese Communist authorities, apparently in reply to Communist invitation for recognition.
“From the latter statement it would appear that there exists some misunderstanding on the part of the US Government. In this connection the Ministry wishes to emphasize that no note has been addressed by the Netherlands Government to the Chinese Communist authorities, but that only an oral message was conveyed to these authorities, the text of which was communicated to the US Government and other governments concerned well in advance of the eventual date of its delivery.
“The oral communication in question was not made in reply to a Communist invitation for recognition but was prompted by the consideration that a regime, exercising the virtual power in the greater part of China, can for practical reasons not be wholly ignored.
“The Ministry shares the hope of the Embassy that the full consultation between the Western Powers concerned, which was envisaged at the time, will precede decisions on the question of recognition and gladly gives the assurance that the Netherlands Government for its part will continue to adhere to this procedure.”
Sent Department; repeated Paris 76, London 113.
- Not printed.↩