Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Asia and the Pacific, Volume VI, Part 1

694.001/1–1251

[Extract]¹

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Special Assistant to the Consultant (Allison)

secret

[Washington,] January 12, 1951.

Subject: Japanese Peace Settlement

Participants:	Sir Oliver Franks, British Ambassador
	Mr. Hubert Graves, Counselor, British Embassy
	Mr. John Foster Dulles, S
	Maj. Gen. Carter Magruder, Army2
	Col. C. S. Babcock, Army3
	Mr. John M. Allison

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Mr. Dulles then went on to explain that in thinking how some of the problems, particularly those connected with security, might be solved, we had begun considering in the most tentative way the possibilities of some security arrangement among those nations with major Pacific island territories. Such a group, which could consist of Japan, the Philippines, perhaps Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, might make a declaration that an armed attack on any of them would be a threat to the peace and security of each of them and that they would then consider, in accordance with their constitutional processes, what action to take. There might be set up a Pacific defense council to provide for general consultation among the powers as to how best meet their common problems. Mr Graves raised the question whether the United Kingdom would be included in such an arrangement. Mr. Dulles explained it might be best to limit the area to the major island nations of the Pacific and that in our minds it had not been contemplated that the United Kingdom would participate. Nevertheless it would probably be possible and perhaps desirable to arrange for some form of consultative cooperation between the United Kingdom and the other signatory members to the arrangement. Any fuller participation by the United Kingdom might immediately raise the question of bringing in France, the Netherlands, and Portugal, which might not be desirable at this time. Mr. Graves seemed somewhat startled at this idea, but Sir Oliver did not indicate any discomposure.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1. The portions of this memorandum omitted are printed on p. 792.
2. Special Assistant for Occupied Areas in the Office of the Secretary of the Army.
3. Colonel Babcock was Chief of the Government Branch under General Magruder. He had been detailed to Mr. Dulles’ staff in September 1950, under an arrangement described in the memorandum of September 4, by Mr. Allison to the Secretary, printed in Foreign Relations, 1950, vol. vi, p. 1290.