Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume I, Foundations of Foreign Policy

187. Memorandum From the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Hill) to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (McFarlane)¹

Washington, March 6, 1984

SUBJECT

• Recommendation for a Presidential Speech on Our Relations with the East Asian and Pacific Region

We recommend that the President authorize the preparation of a speech, without commitment to give it, on our policy toward the East Asian and Pacific region. Such a speech, given in conjunction with his trip to China, would help to put the trip in proper perspective while illustrating in a positive manner the foreign policy goals of this administration.² East Asia represents an unheralded success for U.S. policy and free market principles. A Presidential address on the region would serve, in particular:

— to focus the American people on the successes that we and our East Asian and Pacific friends have together built and must together protect;

— to demonstrate to the region itself our commitment and understanding of its problems;

— to emphasize the importance of the region, of sound cooperation within the region, and of our ties to those nations that share our ideals, such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand;

— to reassure the rest of Asia that our China relationship is part of a much larger whole;

— to comment on our attachment to democratic ideals at a crucial point in the political development of the Philippines;

— to lay the framework for closer cooperation within the Pacific Basin.

This would be the first presidential address on Asia since the Vietnam war and would be certain to attract wide attention. The most advantageous setting would probably be on the eve of the China trip, but the speech might also be given shortly after the President’s return.

Charles Hill

1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Subject File, Speech File, Presidential—Presidential Speeches (March–May 1984). Confidential. An attached NSC Correspondence Profile indicates that the memorandum was sent to Sigur for action, Laux for concurrence, and Childress for information. Sigur sent the memorandum to McFarlane under a March 9 memorandum, writing: “I agree with the State memorandum to you recommending a Presidential address on our relations with East Asia and the Pacific.” McFarlane approved the recommendation. (Ibid.) In a March 12 memorandum to Hill, Kimmitt indicated that the NSC staff agreed that such a speech “would be better delivered after the President’s trip to China.” (Ibid.) In an April 12 memorandum to Shultz, Wolfowitz and Rodman proposed that the President deliver the speech in either May or June, preceding or following the London G–7 Economic Summit meeting. Shultz did not indicate his preference for either option. (Ibid.) McFarlane, in an April 17 memorandum to Darman, discussed the timing of the speech, adding: “I don’t feel strongly about this. The trip itself is probably sufficient to establish on the public record that the President has an Asia policy. So doing speech is marginal.” (Ibid.)
2. The President was scheduled to travel to Beijing, Xian, and Shanghai, April 26–May 1. Documentation on the visit is scheduled for publication in Foreign Relations, 1981–1988, vol. XXIX, China, 1984–1988.