Office of the Historian

310.2/7–350: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Embassy in India 1

secret   priority
Washington, July 4, 1950—6 p. m.

9. You are authorized explain appropriate official GOI reurtel 14 of July 32 that there is no change in our position re application veto to question Chi representation. Emphasize that Dept considers in view Korean situation it wld be most undesirable for question Chi representation be raised SC or other UN organs at this time. United efforts SC and free world shd, we believe, be directed to successful handling Korean situation and Council’s work shd not be complicated by contentious issue Chi representation.

In ur discretion you may wish state that US appreciates GOI’s motives this problem purely constructive but that during present [Page 248] crisis we see no change beneficial East-West collaboration developing through this approach. On other hand serious and effective obstruction SC by Commies wld be certain in improbable event such step were taken.3

Acheson
  1. Repeated to USUN as telegram 17.↩
  2. In this cable the Ambassador in India (Henderson) reported that he had been informed by Sir Girja Bajpai, Secretary-General of the Indian Ministry for External Affairs, that the Government of India was of the opinion “that it was extremely important at this juncture for preservation of world peace that the Communist Chinese and the Soviet Union sit in the Security Council and that it was therefore endeavoring to persuade other members of the Security Council who had not thus far done so to vote for immediate admission of the Communist Chinese. He asked whether as result of aggression in Korea US Government had changed its position which had been that it would accept a majority vote in the Security Council re the Chinese question.” (795.00/7–350)↩
  3. For documentation regarding the démarche made subsequently by the Government of India regarding the Security Council and Korean situations, through the transmission of two personal messages from Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to the Secretary of State, dated July 13 and July 18, respectively; Secretary Acheson’s reply of July 18; and other related correspondence, see volume vii. Other documentation, reflecting further Henderson–Bajpai conversations in New Delhi, is not printed (310.2 and 330 files).↩