314. Summary Record of the 516th Meeting of the National Security Council0
Chinese Communist Intentions
[Here follows discussion relating to China, India, Korea, Vietnam, Ceylon, and Sino-Soviet relations. The record of this discussion, except for the brief reference to Ceylon, is printed in volume XXII, Document 181.]
The President asked Mr. McCone about the situation in Pakistan, noting that he had read the recent reports about Pak officials refusing to cooperate with us in connection with our reconnaissance bases. Mr. McCone said he was worried about the situation and felt that it was very important for us to do something about it promptly. So far our reconnaissance activity had not been halted, but negotiations for a badly needed expansion of our base structure have been stopped. He noted that criticism in Pakistan of the U.S. has been increasing and he felt that some immediate action, such as sending a high-level representative to talk to President Ayub should be undertaken immediately.
The President responded by saying that we could not leave the Indians to face the Chinese Communists alone, but that the result was a psychotic reaction on the part of the Paks. He did not know whether we should attribute the Pak reaction to any actions on our part. Mr. McCone commented that we got no credit for our efforts to promote assistance to Pakistan by means of an international consortium.
The President suggested that we relate the things Mr. McCone wants from Pakistan to other aspects of our policy toward Pakistan. Mr. Talbot replied that all current efforts were to keep our relations with the Paks from continuing down a slippery slide. As soon as our relations ceased to deteriorate we could then examine our policy on the basis of a stabilized situation. Secretary Rusk added that we had not tied our economic assistance to Mr. McCone’s requests because up to the immediate past Mr. McCone had been having no difficulty in getting what he needed from the Paks while we were having problems getting our aid program for Pakistan approved by Congress.
[Here follows discussion unrelated to South Asia.]