Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson and Ambassador Norman Makin of Australia

examint CONDITIONAL September 21, 1949. 659 MEMORANCUM OF CONVERSATION ARCHIVES 'NATIONAL Ai RECORDS SERVICE* The Australian Ambassador, Mr. Makin ealled at his request, at the Waldorf Towers. He had preseed urgently for this appointment. He told me that he was conveying to me a message "from Canberra", which Canberra wished to have delivered to me today. It was to the effect thet Canberra had been disturbed to know that discussions had taken place in Washington regarding Far Eastern matters without participation of any representative of Australia. Australia believed that it had a deep and important interest in all questions affecting the Far East area. It felt that its close association with the United States in the war and the important part which it had played in the war, as well as the important part which it was playing in Far Eastern affairs, entitled it to be present and to explain its views when Far Eastern matters vere discussed. He said that he was delivering this message with due deference and respect, and he knew that I would under- stand the spirit in which it was meant. I replied that the mesasge was a nost surprising one, and that I was not at all aure that I understood it. I said that the United States had taken the position in 1947, which was reaffirmed in Paris, that the negotiation of the peace treaty in the Far East should be made with the full participation of the FEC countries and that was the present attitude of the United States Government. I knew of no resson which would lead to our chang- ing it, BO that Mr. Evatt could be assured that our attitude on this matter remained the same. I gaid that, on the other hand, there were many questions in the Far East on which the United States Government was continually exchanging views with other Governments, and that recently in Washington I had exchanged views with Mr. Stikker on the progress of the round- table discussions and was much interested to learn from him his estimate of the progress of those talks. The President and I have talked with the President of the Philippines on questions affecting the United States and the Philippines. I had talked with Mr. Sehuman on matters affecting Indo China and with Mr. Bevin on economic and other questions affecting Malaya and Burma. Mr. Bevin had also given me his estimate of the situation in Hong Kong. DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) DENTIAL Dept. of State letter, 13.23.75 Bg NLT. HC NARS Date4.27.76