Eisenhower Library, Dulles papers, Classified material file

No. 65
Memorandum by John Foster Dulles to General Dwight D. Eisenhower1

secret

Following your talk with Chinese Foreign Minister Yeh,2 he talked with me at some length. He primarily indicated the hope that your administration, in dealing with the Chinese Nationalist Government, would, in form at least, treat it as one to be consulted with rather than as one to be merely told.

I told him that it was possible that the present instructions to the Seventh Fleet to defend the Chinese Communist mainland might be altered without altering their instructions to aid in the defense of Formosa. I said I assumed that, since these instructions related only to our own military establishment and were originally purely unilateral, their modification in the sense I indicated would not require any further consultation. He indicated his concurrence in this view.

He said that his government did not take a favorable view of sending its forces to Korea. He deplored the rather exaggerated statements about this being made by Senator Knowland3 and Congressman Judd4 but said he had not himself tried to stop them because [Page 126] of their known friendliness toward China. He believed that the sound strategy was first to be sure to hold Formosa; secondly, to make it an increasing source of potential pressure against the Communist center rather than to denude Formosa in order to gain increased strength at the flanks.

JFD
  1. An attached note, dated Jan. 5, reads: “This memorandum shown to General Eisenhower. Points 1 and 2 noted. Point 3 concurred in. JFD” The numbered points refer to the three paragraphs of the memorandum, which are numbered in the margin of the source text.
  2. No record of this conversation has been found in Department of State files.
  3. Senator William F. Knowland (R–California).
  4. Representative Walter H. Judd (R–Minnesota).