Office of the Historian

135. Telegram From the Commander in Chief, Pacific (Stump) to the Chief of Naval Operations (Burke)0

Honolulu, July 16, 1958, 12:06 p.m.

162206Z. Personal for Adm Burke from Stump. Despite transcendency of MidEast situation, I urge favorable response to AmEmb Djakarta niact tel 2201 to Dept State, in form of (ALFA) statement by Sec State (bravo) stronger representations to Presidents Chiang and Garcia.

My thought is that if we permit Indonesian situation to retrogress while attention is focused on MidEast, we will be providing the Communist [Page 245] bloc exactly what it needs for diversionary action through which another bonfire maybe started which could lead toward a possible catastrophic loss to the free world. Without use of ChiNat and/or Philippine bases continuation of rebel bombings would not be possible. It would be impossible for me if I were an Indonesian and it is impossible for me as CINCPAC to believe that the US is impotent enough to be unable to stop these raids, which are encouraging to the rebels and which involve retention of GOI troops outside of Java where they are needed to guard against PKI uprisings, which are feared by those in the GOI whom we hope are anxious to move in the direction we want them to go.2

  1. Source: Department of State, Djakarta Embassy Files: Lot 63 F 50, 350.21 Communism. Secret; Priority. Repeated to Djakarta.↩
  2. Document 134.↩
  3. A marginal notation on the source text, apparently by Jones, reads: “Good for Stump!”↩