Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Ambassador of Great Britain Sir Oliver Franks, and W. Walton Butterworth

SECRET Returntime 60335 6 542 DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation Secritary's office DATE: December 8, 1949 SUBJECT: Far East 316 PARTICIPANTS: Sir Oliver Franks, British Ambassador The Secretary Mr. W. Walton Buttervorth, Assistant Secretary, FE day the COPIES TO: S EUR ARCHIVES AND U FE RECORDS G CA H NA 1-1493 The British Ambassador called this morning at my request and I explained to him that I wished to discuss with him the question of recognition of the Chinese Communist regime. He said he was glad that I had sent for him because he also had two or three matters which he wished to raise, particularly, the question of Formosa and the discussions at the Ceylon Conference regarding a possible Japanese Peace Treaty. By agreement, we began with Formosa. Sir Oliver Franks said there were two aspects of that question of concern to his Government. In the first place, they were concerned about the further shipment of military supplies from this country to Formosa and, in particular, such Weapons as medium and heavy tanks and airéraft since it was their considered view that through defections Formosa would sooner rather than later pass into the hame of the Chinese Communiste who might well at some stage use such materiel and weapons against Hong Kong. I summarized for the British Ambassador the status of shipment under the $125 million grants as set forth in the attached docu- ment and in this connection called his attention to the possibility that Sherman tanks and Staghound armored cars DECLASSIFIED might E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (E) By Dept. NLT- H NARS Date 42776 SECRET of State letter, 2.23.75