795.00/12–950
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of Chinese Affairs (Clubb)
Subject: Instructions from Prime Minister Nehru to Indian Ambassador
| Participants: | Mr. K. R. C. Pridham, Second Secretary, British Embassy |
| Mr. Clubb, CA |
Mr. Pridham called at his request to show me a cable received through the Foreign Office purporting to give the text of message [Page 1486] sent by Prime Minister Nehru on December 8 to the Indian Ambassador at Peiping, Mr. Panikkar, approving the line adopted by the latter in a conversation (undated) with “Chang” (Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs?). What line Mr. Panikkar had followed in that conversation was not clear from the cable.
Mr. Nehru went on to indicate that the first essential in respect to negotiations regarding Korea was the establishment of a cease-fire. Reference was made to the establishment of a demilitarized zone and to the withdrawal of UN forces south of the 38th Parallel. Mr. Nehru indicated, however, that any Communist demand for withdrawal of the UN forces from Korea entirely would be unrealized. The purport of his proposals for dealing with the question of political disposition of the peninsula was that Korea should be unified in accordance with the UN mandate.
The question of Formosa, according to this message, was complicated by reason of considerations of U.S. defense in the west Pacific, which had reference to both Formosa and Japan, and it was Mr. Nehru’s recommendation that the matter therefore be brought up for consideration only at a later date.
Note: Mr. Graves of the British Embassy called later to request that the Department give no indication that it had knowledge of the message in point. It is recommended therefore that this message not be disseminated.