Foreign Relations of the United States, 1955–1957, East Asian Security; Cambodia; Laos, Volume XXI

81. Draft Memorandum by the Officer in Charge of Australia and New Zealand Affairs (Kavanaugh)¹

Washington, February 6, 1956.

SUMMARY OF RECENT ANZUS ACTIVITY

[Here follows a summary of the ANZUS Staff Planners meeting held at Pearl Harbor, October 24–28. For a summary of the conclusions of that meeting, see Document 74.]

Following the recommendation of the ANZUS Staff Planners, the ANZUS Military Representatives met in Melbourne on January 23, 1956, following the SEATO Military Advisers Meeting.² The U.S. Military Representative, having made the Staff Planners Report³ available to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, received guidance⁴ from them which is generally reflected in the action of the Military Representatives at this meeting.

The ANZUS Military Representatives approved the Staff Planners’ study on Item 1 of the agenda with minor amendments of details.⁵ They also approved the study on Agenda Item 2 but considered that the term “quasi-overt military action” should be defined as “armed action under conditions short of overt aggression, by organized bands or groups responsive in varying degrees to foreign control or direction”. They also agreed with the Staff Planners about provision of military aid under conditions short of overt Communist aggression but considered that action in the field of psychological warfare under conditions short of Communist aggression should only be undertaken with reference to the political context. The Military Representatives, therefore, considered that a need exists for joint Military/Civil considerations of possible courses of action under conditions of quasi-overt military action. Since this would be an extension of the scope of organization required under SEATO to coordinate cold war activities, this need will be brought to the notice of the SEATO Council by the SEATO Military Advisers.

The Representatives also deleted from the Staff Planners’ Report Appendix 1 (a study of future trends in Southeast Asia with emphasis on South Vietnam and Indonesia) and references to the military aid program in Laos.

The work on Agenda Item 3 of the Staff Planners Report was also approved by the Military Representatives with the notation that certain conclusions were subject to further study in SEATO after which the studies should be accepted for ANZUS planning purposes.

Finally, the Military Representatives at the Melbourne Meeting agreed that the following further studies should be undertaken at Pearl Harbor by the ANZUS Staff Planners immediately after the SEATO Threat Evaluation Ad Hoc Subcommittee Meeting in March 1956:

2. Military measures required to counter the threat to the security of Southeast Asia through quasi-overt military action and steps which should be taken for their implementation (position paper to be prepared by the U.S.).⁶

1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 790.5/2–656. Top Secret. In an attached note to Bell, February 6, Kavanaugh indicated that this memorandum was a draft. No later version has been found in Department of State files.
2. At the Melbourne meeting, the Military Representatives were: Air Marshal Sir John McCauley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chief of the Air Staff, Australia; Major General Cyril Weir, Chief of the General Staff and First Member of the Army Board, New Zealand; and Admiral Stump. The Military Advisers met January 17–21. The Report on their meeting was submitted to the Council Representatives at Bangkok on February 6. A copy is the attachment to a note by Roger Kirk of the Reports and Operations Staff, dated February 17, and designated KAR Ref. 6/100. (Department of State, Conference Files: Lot 62 D 181, CF 656)
3. Text of the undated report is attached to a letter dated January 19 to Walter Robertson from General Fox. (Department of State, Central Files, 790.5/1–1956)
4. A summary of this guidance is contained in a January 17 letter to Secretary Wilson, signed by General Twining on behalf of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, not printed. It is another attachment to the letter cited in footnote 3 above.
5. The agenda items are as numbered in Document 74.
6. The “Report of Meeting of ANZUS Military Representatives at Melbourne”, January 23, not printed, is attached to a letter dated June 4 to the Secretary from Gordon Gray, which reads:

   “This report has been reviewed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff who consider that it is in consonance with U.S. policy and with U.S. guidance previously furnished to CINCPAC, the U.S. Military Representative to the ANZUS Council. This office concurs with the views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and on the basis of coordination with representatives of the Department of State, has so informed CINCPAC in order that he may have adequate guidance for future military planning within the ANZUS arrangements.” (Department of State, Central Files, 790.5/6–456)