790.5/7–2453
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs (Raynor)1
Subject:
- Statement of Prime Minister Menzies re U.S. Responsibility for British Exclusion from ANZUS
Participants:
- Minister Arthur Tange, Australian Embassy
- Mr. Raynor, BNA
I called Minister Tange this afternoon and told him that the Department was surprised and could not understand the statement reported to have been made by Prime Minister Menzies at his press conference on his return to Australia, which read, in part, as reported in the Australian News Summary issued by the Embassy No. 53/139 of July 23,2 as follows, “We understand and sympathize with the desire of Britain to be associated with ANZUS, but if America is not willing to extend the membership of ANZUS, there is nothing Australia and New Zealand can do about it short of breaking up the treaty; and this we are not willing to do.”
I said that at the Honolulu meeting of the ANZUS Council Australian Minister of External Affairs Casey had made a firm statement to the effect that the decision that the British should not be associated with ANZUS was rightly a joint decision of the three members. I said we had understood there was firm tripartite agreement on this point and that, in fact, this tripartite position had been maintained uniformly to date. Hence, it was difficult for us to understand the Prime Minister’s statement which apparently placed the onus on us. I said this did not seem in accordance with our understanding, or fair. I asked the Minister if he would report this concern to his Government. This he promised to do and said he would try to get whatever background that might be available with respect to the Prime Minister’s statement.