751G.5/8–2950
Memorandum by the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Far Eastern Affairs (Merchant) to the Secretary of State
Subject: Possibility Schuman may wish to Discuss with You Recent French Approach Concerning Deal with Mao on Indochina.
Discussion
It is possible that at the Foreign Ministers’ meetings next month Foreign Minister Schuman may refer to the tentative suggestion the French Foreign Office put forward last month concerning a deal with the Mao regime on Indochina.
Parodi informed Ambassador Bruce on August 11 that the French were considering the possibility of approaching the Chinese Communists through the British Chargé in Peiping to see if an understanding might be reached under which the Chinese Communists would agree to refrain from interfering in Indochinese affairs. In return the French expected that they would be asked to change their present policy on Chinese Communist representation in the UN. The French admittedly regarded the proposal as a 100 to 1 shot. (Paris’ 783, August 12, attached.)
The Department instructed Ambassador Bruce to discourage the contemplated French move to the fullest extent possible and at the same time authorized him to assure the French of our continued determination to increase the scope of military aid to them and other Associated States. Ambassador Bruce was given specific points which he might raise with the French which would indicate the Department’s [Page 868] general views on the tentative proposal (Deptel to Paris 805, August 15, attached). Ambassador Bruce reported after further discussions with the French Foreign Office that he believed that the issue could be regarded as dormant and that there seemed to be agreement that if the matter were to be discussed further the discussions should take place when Schuman meets you in September (Paris’ 823, August 16, attached).
Subsequently the French Foreign Office inquired concerning press despatches from Washington indicating that the US Government had informed the Chinese Communist regime through the Indian Embassy at Peiping that we had no territorial ambitions in Formosa. Paris was informed for its information only of the action which we had taken in this connection and was told that the Department was discouraging speculation such as the press reports in question because publicity would be unfortunate. We have since learned informally from our Embassy in Paris that this French inquiry may have been prompted by a suspicion that we were feeling our way toward a deal with the Chinese Communists. We are taking steps to remove any such suspicion.
Recommendations
You should not refer to this subject unless the French bring it up.
If—as now appears unlikely—Schuman does refer to this subject, you should reply along the lines previously followed in discussions by Bruce with the Foreign Office and set forth in the attached telegram to Paris of August 15 (Tab A).1
If the general subject is under discussion, you may also wish to inform Schuman that the Government of India at our request asked its Ambassador in Peiping to transmit to the Chinese Communist Foreign Office the text of the President’s message of July 19 to Congress with regard to Formosa.2 You may wish to add that we took this step not with any view to reaching a deal with the Chinese Communists but to ensure that they were fully aware of the reasons for our recent measures with regard to Formosa which involve no hostile intent toward them.