694.95B/8–554: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in Japan1
239. For Ambassador from Secretary. I do not have any present plans for promoting a security pact which would draw together Japan, ROK, Formosa, the USA and perhaps the Philippines, although I regard this as an ultimate possibility.2 However at the moment the important business is to create in the area a sense of interdependence. The President and I have gone very far to impress [Page 712] Rhee and his advisers on this point, emphasizing that it is imperative to have good relations between Japan and Korea. It is because of this aspect of the matter that I did not want to give a totally negative reply to the question which I got at my press conference, as if I indicated that there is no interdependence between these countries, that would encourage Rhee to take an isolationist line.
- Drafted by Dulles personally.↩
In a draft dated Aug. 4, Dulles had written this sentence as follows: “I do not have any present plans for promoting a security pact which would draw together Japan, ROK, Formosa, the USA and perhaps the Philippines. I do not exclude this as an ultimate possibility.”
In a memorandum to the Secretary dated Aug. 5, Drumright wrote: “I would like to suggest a slightly more positive ending to the first sentence of your proposed message to Mr. Allison. I suggest this because our conversations with the Japanese Ambassador here during the past few days lead us to believe that the Japanese are interested in a collective security pact and, with some active encouragement from us, might be prepared to take steps to participate in some workable arrangement. Therefore, it might be advisable for Allison not to be too negative in discussing the matter with the Japanese Government.” (Draft telegram as revised by Drumright is attached to memorandum; 794.5 MSP/8–454)
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