694.001/6–2551: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in the Republic of China 1
1394. Eyes only Rankin from Rusk. Reurtel 1762.2 We cannot at this point give any official interpretation which cld be attributed and any purported attribution wld be unfortunate and subj to repudiation by us. However, FYI only, it wld seem to us that both Chi and Jap govts cld reasonably interpret treaty formula to permit (1) informal exchange of views which wld enable it to be unofficially known at time of signing multilateral treaty that bilateral pact was in fact probable; (2) bilateral pact to be negotiated during the interval between signing multilateral treaty and its coming into force as by that time it cld no longer be urged that treaty terms were pressures which were coercing Jap in regard to Chi Govt; (3) bilateral pact to come into force almost immed fol coming into force of multilateral treaty.
We cannot ourselves assume to put official interpretation upon multilateral treaty which wld be acceptable to all. We merely point out that so far nothing has been said or contemplated which wld exclude the Chi Govt and Jap Govt acting generally along lines above indicated. It is emphasized that premature public discussion along above lines wld probably produce undesirable hardening of situation to disadvantage Chi Natl Govt. [Rusk.]
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Who drafted this telegram is uncertain. Mr. Dunes’ name is typewritten as drafting officer, but handwritten next to his name is the notation “By U[ral] A[lexis] J[ohnson].” Mr. Johnson apparently also cleared this telegram on behalf of Mr. Rusk.
This telegram was sent also to Tokyo as number 1814, marked “Eyes only Sebald.”
↩ - Of June 23. In it Mr. Rankin had stated in part: “Believe Chi Govt is in main reconciled nonparticipation multilateral treaty but hoped at least sign bilateral agreement more or less simultaneously … Is that possible?” (694.001/6–2351)↩