Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE the WASHINGTON DECEASSIFIED E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402 February 1, 1951 State Dept. Guidelines, March 6, 1982 By DEB NLT, Date 9-4-85 SECRET SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS UNITED KINGDOM Embassy London believes that there has been a change in Conservative Party strategy since Parliament reconvened last week and that Conservative leaders are now actively seeking to engineer a defeat of the Labor government. Conservative policy has been to keep the government under constant pressure but not to exert an all-out effort to bring about its fall. The principal cause for the change in tactics lies in the conviction of the Tories, which the Embassy is inclined to share, that an early election would return them to office with at least a small working majority. The Embassy believes the Conservatives will now overlook no oppor - tunity to drive home an attack except on issues of defense and foreign policy, and will even attack details of the government's handling of these issues. CHINA Ambassador Henderson in New Delhi has been informed by the Secretary General of the Indian foreign office that the government of India had received no message rom Peiping stating the Communist Government would not discuss a cease-fire in case the US resolution (condemning Communist China as an aggressor) should pass the General Assembly. A message had been received, however, from Chou En-lai in reply to Nehru's appeal to him to issue a statement of China's pacific intentions, in which Chou had stated that as long as the resolution was pending in the UN he could not issue a statement since it might look as though Peiping were weakening in the face of charges against it. Ambassador Henderson ex- pressed the hope that the passage of the US resolution would not termi- nate India's efforts in the direction of peace and pointed out that India was in a better position than almost any country to exert an ameliorat- ing influence on China. The Secretary General said he personally would continue his efforts and that he was convinced that the Indian Government would also carry on despite the defeat for its policies which the UN vote meant. SECRET