Foreign Relations of the United States, 1950, East Asia and the Pacific, Volume VI

794A.00/11–1150

The Secretary of State to the Secretary of Defense (Marshall)

top secret

Washington, November 11, 1950.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: The question of Formosa will shortly come before the Political Committee of the General Assembly. The Department of State considers that, if we are to have any chance to accomplish our basic purposes with respect to Formosa, we now concentrate at this stage of United Nations procedure upon (1) the military neutralization of Formosa and (2) an insistence that the question of Formosa be settled by peaceful means. The text of a draft resolution which would accomplish these purposes, to the extent that parliamentary action in the United Nations can do so, is attached for your information. Considerable advantage would be obtained by having a number of delegations, including the United States and the United Kingdom, sponsor a resolution along these lines at an early stage in General Assembly debate.

There are solid advantages in a procedure which does not require the United States or its major friends and allies to commit themselves to hard and fast positions respecting the substantive aspects of the problem at this time. At present, there is a considerable gap between our thinking and that of our major friends. It would be harmful to have these divergences given public prominence. On the other hand, it is very possible that with the passing of time as the intentions of the Chinese Communists respecting their neighbors become clearer and as certain factors in the situation such as the wishes of the Formosans are brought out and given greater prominence, these divergences may be substantially reduced or eliminated.

Under the procedure we envisage, a United Nations commission would spend the first year in studying the problem, in bringing out all relevant factors and in providing an opportunity for a full exchange of views among the governments concerned. The commission would give careful consideration to the respective Chinese claims to Formosa, to the well-being and wishes of the Formosans themselves, and to the valid interest of the international community in promoting peace and security in the western Pacific area. This interest of the world community embraces not only the need for a peaceful solution of this problem where use of force has been threatened; it necessitates taking into account such other factors as the past use of Formosa as a base for military aggression and a possible future use of it for this purpose.

During the course of discussion in the Political Committee the question of the present mission of the United States 7th Fleet will probably be raised and it will be necessary for the United States Representative to deal with this question promptly. A draft statement for the use of the United States Representative as now being prepared and will be cleared with the Department of Defense and the President before being used.

With respect to the composition of the commission, it is believed that in the commission the proportion of members recognizing Communist China should be roughly the same as obtains in the General Assembly (17 out of 60) and that the composition of the commission should take into account the interests of the Asian Governments.

Your special attention is invited to the fact that our present purpose is to insure the neutralization of Formosa pending an extended process of peaceful settlement of the Formosa question. That is based upon the long-standing view of this Government that our primary security objective is to deny Formosa to the exploitation of an enemy. The question arises as to the position if Communist China persists in its intervention in Korea and puts itself in such an aggressive position as to require military action against the mainland of China. The Department of State considers that the procedure we now have in mind would leave the way open for further United Nations action against China which would permit the use of Formosa for operations against China in the event of clear Chinese aggression. We do not believe that we could successfully inject this issue into the Formosa question at this stage but we shall handle the case in such a way as not to foreclose our freedom of action in the event we and the United Nations decide to act against China as an aggressor.

Sincerely yours,

Dean Acheson

[Enclosure]

Draft Resolution on the Problem of Formosa

Noting that the signatories to the Cairo Declaration declared it to be one of their purposes that certain territories formerly held by Japan, including Formosa and the Pescadores, should be restored to the Republic of China and that no formal act restoring sovereignty over these territories to China has yet occurred;

Recognizing that two parties at present claim the right to administer Formosa, that there have been threats of an armed attack on Formosa from the Chinese mainland and that Formosa has been used as a base for attacks on the Chinese mainland, that attempts to settle the dispute by force would heighten international tension and would be prejudicial to the maintenance of international peace and security in the area as well as prejudicial to the interests of the people of Formosa; and further

Recognizing that the foregoing considerations raise questions as to the obligations and responsibilities of Members under the Charter;

Decides to establish a commission composed of the representatives of the following States (five to seven) which, bearing in mind the considerations set forth in the preceding paragraphs should study the problem and submit a report to the General Assembly containing recommendations for the future of Formosa and the Pescadores. The commission should consult all governments, authorities and parties concerned;

Recommend[s] that, pending the study by the commission and adoption by the General Assembly of recommendations concerning this problem, there be no attempt to change the status of Formosa by force and that there be neither (a) armed attack on Formosa from the Chinese mainland, or (b) armed attack on the Chinese mainland from Formosa;

Requests all governments and authorities concerned to act in conformity with the recommendation in the preceding paragraph and render every possible assistance to the commission in the performance of its tasks.