British, U.S. Differences On Far East Policy

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26397, 16 April 1951, Page 7

British, U.S. Differences On Far East Policy

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) WASHINGTON, April 14. The British Ambassador (Sir Oliver Franks) to-day complained to the State Department about its handling of the rejection of the British proposals that Communist China should participate in the negotiation of the Japanese peace treaty, says Reuter’s diplomatic correspondent. Anxious to rebut the charges of General MacArthur’s supporters that the United States Government was appeasing Britain as well as Communist China in its Far Eastern policies, the State Department press officer (Mr Michael McDermott) gave a picture to correspondents of an anti-appeasement United States Government sternly rejecting the British proposal that discussions should be engaged in with Peiping, and that Formosa should be returned to China in accordance with the Cairo declaration.

Mr McDermott said that in this connexion the United States was continuing to oppose admission of the Chinese Communist regime to the United Nations, although Britain had not discussed this highly controversial question. The position has been further complicated by the fact that during the General MacArthur furore the State Department allowed to leak out to the press Britain’s suggestion that the Communist Chinese Government receive a copy of the draft treaty. As a result of this, much of the highly emotional pro-General MacArthur indignation has been turned against Britain, which is suppposed to favour appeasing the Chinese Communists all along the line. It is now probable that Britain will, on her own initiative, show the draft of the British proposals for the Japanese peace settlement to Peiping as the Government of a major Pacific Power. The United States already has shown the draft of its proposals to the Soviet Union in spite of Soviet support of Communist aggression in Korea.

There has been no public objection by the State Department to the British showing the draft to China. Differing Points of View

There are still a number of differences of points of view to be ironed out before Britain and the United States can agree upon the terms of the Japanese peace settlement One important factor is ultimate necessity of trade with China to Japan’s economic stability, and the difficulty of such trade unless there is some sort of resumption of relations between China and Japan. The British view is that composing these differences will be made more difficult if the State Department allows to leak out reports of British day-to-day proposals on the subject, resulting in garbled versions appearing in the press and in violent public reaction at a time when the Far East is being discussed at fever heat. The increasing seriousness of the position from the point of view of British and American relations is demonstrated by the frequent charges being made in Congress and in the press and in public pro-General MacArthur demonstrations that Britain manoeuvred Mr Truman into dismissing General MacArthur because of the General’s opposition to a Britishsponsored movement to appease Communist China.

Thousands of telegrams reaching Congressmen are reported to take this line.