DEFENCE OF FORMOSA

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27628, 7 April 1955, Page 11

DEFENCE OF FORMOSA

U.S. Prepared To Use Troops

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9.15 p.m.) ' WASHINGTON, April 5. The Secretary of the Navy, Mr Charles Thomas, said today that the United States was prepared to use ground troops if necessary to defend Formosa against a Chinese Communist attack.

His statement was supported by Admiral Robert Carney. Chief of Naval Operations, who said that if trouble developed in the Far East it might require “the whole team” to bring it under control.

Mr Thomas said the present planned strength of the armed forces would be adequate to defend Formosa if fighting men were limited to the Chinese Nationalist stronghold.' If it spread to other areas, he said, the United States would have “to go into greater mobilisation.”

Mr Thomas and Admiral Carney testified before the Senate Military Appropriations Sub-committee in support of the Administration’s request for 34,000,000,000 dollars to run the armed services in the year beginning on July 1. Mr Thomas was subjected to close questioning about Administration plans to cut the strength of the Marine Corps by 27,000 men next year.

Two Democrats on the sub-committee said the proposed cut should be postponed until the troubled Formosan situation clears up.

“I think that if Formosa is attacked,” Mr Thomas said, ‘‘we have enough to protect Formosa.”

Nothing developed at the hearing to indicate when the defence leaders thought the Chinese Communists might try to capture Formosa. Admiral Carney denied he had predicted the Communists might strike at outlying islands along the Chinese coast around April 15. He had been reported to have said that at a private dinner to selected correspondents recently. He said he had discussed the capabilities of the Communist Chinese, but did not predict what they would do.