3. Letter From the Under Secretary of State (Herter) to President Chiang0
Dear Mr. President: During our meeting on September 14, 1957, at Taipei,1 you provided Ambassador Richards and me with the outline of a plan for training parachutists and dropping them on the mainland of [Page 5] China to foment and organize resistance against the Communists. You asked that this plan be brought to the attention of President Eisenhower.
Following our return to the United States, the Department of State received additional details of your plan. It was given careful study by the Government of the United States, and I discussed it with President Eisenhower.
After thorough consideration of all the factors involved, we have concluded that it would be desirable to train additional paratroopers in order to be better prepared for possible contingencies, provided this can be done without increase in the cost of the military aid program. The Military Assistance Advisory Group has recently been authorized to begin the training of 3,000 troops in parachute techniques and unconventional warfare within the limits of the aid program for Fiscal Year 1958. We now propose that the military authorities of the United States and the Republic of China consult to see what further economies might be achieved in the aid program and in the Chinese military budget which would permit the training of additional paratroopers beyond this 3,000. Agreement to the training of additional paratroopers does not, of course, imply agreement as to their use, which would be subject to the provisions of the exchange of notes of December 10, 1954, pursuant to the Mutual Defense Treaty,2 and other understandings between the United States and the Republic of China concerning the employment of the Chinese armed forces.
In considering the development of free world military capability in the Far East, as elsewhere, it is essential to bear in mind that we may face a struggle extending over many years in which victory will fall to the side with the greatest staying power. Consequently, both the United States and the Republic of China must continue to shape their military programs so as not to jeopardize long-term economic and political stability.
I take this opportunity to express again my gratitude for your kindness and hospitality during my visit to Taiwan, and to offer my highest regards.
Sincerely yours,
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 793.5–MSP/2–1158. Secret.↩
- See telegram 245 from Seoul, September 16, 1957, Foreign Relations, 1955–1957, vol. III, p. 603.↩
- For text of the U.S.–Republic of China Mutual Defense Treaty signed at Washington on December 2, 1954, and related notes exchanged on December 10, 1954, by Secretary of State Dulles and Foreign Minister Yeh, see 6 UST 433.↩
- Printed from a copy that bears this stamped signature.↩