Office of the Historian
  1. Home
  2. Historical Documents
  3. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, China and Japan, Volume XIV, Part 1
  4. Document 91

FE files, lot 55 D 388, “Formosa Book”: Telegram

No. 91
The Joint Chiefs of Staff to the Commander in Chief Pacific ( Radford )

top secret
priority
Washington , 6 April 1953—11:40 a.m.

JCS 935784. From JCS.

1.
Re JCS 9303241 rescinding that portion of ur dir requiring you to insure that Formosa and Pescadores will not be used as bases of opns against Chi mainland by ChiNats.
2.
JCS 9357822 contains new dir that supersedes the one contained in para 6 of JCS 92666, Jan 52.
3.
Except as indicated in JCS 935782, JCS do not contemplate basing addnal United States forces on Formosa or committing thereto antiaircraft or communications equipment now in short supply. Antiaircraft and communications functions nec for def Formosa shld be performed to max extent practicable by ChiNats. Adequate machinery currently exists for providing them such equipment as is available for this purpose. High priority has been assigned to provision of currently programmed antiaircraft and air control and warning equipment.
4.
In coordinating plans with Chi Govt for offensive use of ChiNat Forces, commitment must be secured that these forces will not engage in offensive opns considered by United States to be inimical to best interests of United States. In particular you shld make clear that United States is undertaking no commitment to counter Commie mil actions which are consequence of ChiNat offensive opns undertaken without prior concurrence of United States authorities.
5.
JCS envisage that arrangements for basing aircraft and pre-stocking supplies on Formosa will be made informally by CINCPAC, in conjunction with Chief United States Dipl Mission on Formosa, rather than by formal base rights bilateral treaty. You are authorized to discuss arrangements prerequisite to basing aircraft on Formosa with NGRC and to obtain commitment from ChiNats required by para 4 above, provided that such arrangements are made in conjunction with Chief of the Dipl Mission. It is further intended that existing ChiNat facilities will be used to max extent possible and that United States will not finance any major base construction.
  1. See footnote 3, Document 79.↩
  2. Supra .↩