124. Editorial Note
At the 380th meeting of the National Security Council on September 25, 1958, Deputy Director of Central Intelligence General Charles P. Cabell discussed the Taiwan Strait situation during his briefing on significant world developments. The relevant portion of the memorandum of discussion by S. Everett Gleason, September 25, reads as follows:
“General Cabell pointed out that the Chinese Communist harassment of the Offshore Islands has reached a point where there was no longer a safe spot on any of the Quemoy Group. Some of the ammunition being used by the Chinese Communists is of Soviet manufacture. The Chinese Communists likewise continue to assert that they are determined to sieze the offshore Islands. They have now issued their twelfth warning against alleged U.S. provocations. Heavy pressure is also being exerted by the Chinese Communists on Hong Kong and the United Kingdom sees the possibility of a clash with the Chinese Communists. There was also the possibility of internal strife in Hong Kong on the 1st and 10th of October when the Nationalist and the Communist Chinese celebrate their national anniversaries. We have had our first evidence that the Chinese Communists have some realization of the dangers inherent in a nuclear conflict with the United States.
[Page 270]“Meanwhile, Moscow’s reaction to the U.S. refusal to accept Khrushchev’s recent letter to President Eisenhower has been very mild and actually there has been no official response to this U.S. action. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has not yet observed any signs of popular apprehension in Moscow despite the official tone of belligerency. Foreign diplomats in Moscow likewise do not expect war.
“General Cabell expressed the opinion that the danger of Chinese Nationalist unilateral action against the Mainland continues. The Nationalists have waged a considerable propaganda campaign in the U.S. against the Warsaw negotiations. Likewise Nationalist air operations against the Communists have become heavier and more aggressive. These were likely to provoke Chinese Communist retaliatory action. Moreover, the Nationalists have launched these attacks in violation of their pledged word to us. Thus far Chinese Communist pilots had been restricted to defensive action against attacking Nationalist aircraft. It is thought that the Chinese Communists may now have Soviet MIG—19’s.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, NSC Records)