Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, East Asia and the Pacific, Volume XII, Part 2

790B.5 MSP/3–2954: Despatch

No. 158
The Ambassador in Burma (Sebald) to the Department of State¹

secret
No. 376

Rangoon, March 29, 1954.

Subject:

• Arms Procurement on Reimbursable Aid Basis.

With reference to the Embassy’s telegram No. 931 of March 24, 1954² and previous correspondence, there are enclosed copies of a memorandum delivered to the Foreign Office on that date and the attached list³ of arms and war materials available for purchase by the Burmese Government on a reimbursable basis under Section 408(e) of the Mutual Defense Assistance Act. This list represents the items which the British Government agreed might be supplied by the American Government, from a very much longer initial list submitted by the Burmese Government about ten months ago. Copies of the memorandum and list have been given to the British Embassy in Rangoon, and it is understood that they have already been forwarded to London.

A memorandum of the conversation incidental to the delivery of this list is also enclosed.⁴

It is impossible to predict the reaction of the Burmese Government to this abbreviated list. It has become apparent to the Embassy, however, that during the protracted waiting period while agreement was being reached between the British and American Governments, the Burmese practically abandoned hope of receiving substantial quantities of war materials from the United States and lost interest in the matter. It is especially unfortunate that the delay happened to coincide with efforts to remove the Chinese irregular troops from this country, since these troops are generally considered to be protegés of the United States, and failure to supply arms promptly has probably been interpreted as being prompted by a desire to avoid their use against these troops.

On the other hand, even belated agreement to supply small quantities of low-priority items can have a favorable psychological impact by indicating that the American Government has sufficient confidence in the orientation and stability of the Burmese Government to entrust it with American arms.

The primary objective of the Burmese in seeking arms from the United States, namely, to reduce their dependence upon the British, has not been realized, and it has been made clear to them by this transaction that the United States is prepared to be guided by British wishes. Although the effect of this discovery upon the Burmese attitude toward the United States may be expected to be unfavorable, the fact that the negotiations have probably moved the British Government to liberalize its own attitude toward the supplying of arms to Burma may to some extent counteract this effect.

On the basis of our discussions with the Foreign Office, it would appear that if the Burmese Government should decide to purchase any items from the approved list the official diplomatic request will be made through the Burmese Embassy in Washington to the Department, and that subsequent negotiations would be carried on in Washington.⁵

W. J. Sebald

1. Repeated to London by the Department.
2. Telegram 931 reported that the Embassy on Mar. 24 delivered to the Burmese Foreign Office lists of army and air equipment approved by the British for U.S. sale to Burma. (790B.5/3–2454)
3. Neither printed.
4. Not printed.
5. Report R–90–54 by the U.S. Army Attaché, June 25, stated that, as of that date, no official reply had been received from the Burmese Foreign Office. The Attaché reported, however, that about a month earlier, a Burmese Army officer actively involved in the procurement negotiations told him that the high prices quoted by the United States were evidently a backdoor means of refusing to sell Burma arms and that the War Office recommended against any purchase of arms from the United States. The report was attached to an undated memorandum for the OCB Working Group on NSC 5405, enclosed with a letter of Aug. 19, 1954, from Burma desk officer W. Wendell Blancke to Acly. (790B.5/8–1654)