Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

NLT(Naval Aide) 164 OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON DELLASSITED E.O. Guidelines, March 9-7-85 6, 1982 12065, Sec. 3-402 January 30, 1951 State DEB Dept. NLT, Date TOP SECRET By SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS UNITED KINGDOM In response to our request, Embassy London has submitted a study of UK thinking and motives which will be used in making a careful examination of differences between the US and UK as reflected in their Far Eastern policies and tactics in the UN. The Embassy prefaces its study with certain assumptions regarding Communist tactics, among which is the observation that the Communists cannot fail to be conscious of obvious progress in their campaign to drive a wedge between the US and UK and probably their Far East strategy for the present will be to exploit it to their advantage and by equivocation, ambiguity and change of pace attempt to follow up their success rather than precipitate the situation (for instance by an attack on Hong Kong) which they realize would speedily unite the West even if not the West and Asia. The British think that recent conversations have been unfruitful in resolving fundamental differences. The Embassy be - lieves, however, that we should continue our attempts to reconcile our positions, and states that it does not dispair of some success as it feels the British position is neither willful nor capricious but rather founded on sincerély and widely held opinions even though such opinions may be of doubtful validity. British distrust of our Far East policies and actions stems from two basic reactions. First, they feel that although neither country sees clearly very far ahead, we push ahead with 11-considered haste and impatience, whereas the unclear future induces in the British caution and a desire to proceed on the assumption that war can be avoided, as long as doing so does not seriously prejudice the strength of our posi- tion in case war actually does eventuate. Second, they feel we under estimate the strictly Asian forces and factors which help the Bolsheviks to utilize the Far East situation successfully to further their own ends. In terms of policy, the primary British concern is to find an effective Far East policy on which both the UK and US agree and which will avoid a split between the West and Asia (especially India), will preserve the UN, and will avoid world war. Neither the UN nor the principle of collective security can, in their view, be salvaged by an TOP SECRET