Evening star., 1950-09-08
U. 5. Reported Making
Secret Pledge 10 Mao
Motto Use Formosa
By Stefan Andrews

Top American diplomatic and
military leaders in Washington
now are convinced that the Chi
nese Reds have no present inten-
ton of joining with the North
Koreans or of spreading the war
into a general Asiatic conflict.
There are two key factors be-
hind this optimistic feeling:
/. Unknown to most officials,
the State Department has gone
out of it's way to make secret
pledge to Communist Leader Mao
Te-tung that the United States
will not establish military bases
on Formosa.
2. The United States has been
using Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru of India as a sort of in
formal emissary to assure the
Communist Peiping government
that America has no aggressive
intentions toward China or Man
churia.
These two factors, more than
anything else, have allayed recent
fears in the Governments top
echelon that China might sud-
denly order 100000 to 250,000
trained Communist troops into
North Korea.
Still Suspicious of U. S.
Diplomatic reports from Peiping
picture the Communists still
deeply suspicious of Americas So
called "imperialistic" intentions.
But the Red leaders repeatedly
are not belligerent and apparently
have no present plans to plunge
China into war.
eSident Truman'S recent
public announcements on China
should have exercised a further
restraining influence on the Chi
nese Communists leaders, officials
believe.
Since the United States does
not recognize the Red regime,
Government officials have been
keeping tab on the Chinese Com
munists through the diplomatic
offices of the few nations who
have diplomatic representatives in
Peiping.
1t was through India's diplo-
matte representation that the
State Department relayed its
secret pledge on Formosa. Tha
assurance repeatedly was carried
personally to Mao over the sigma
ture of Pandit Nehru himself.
Reasons Cited.
officials indicate that this
pledge to keep militarily out of
Formosa has been kept secret
from the American public for fear
it would be attacked by critics
of the Administration as appease-
ment.
The pledge is contrary to the
views of Gen. Macarthur on the
strategic military Importance of
Formosa to the United States and
undoubtedly would have been
attacked by the Generals sup
porters in Congress.
Secretary of State Acheson re-
portedly made the pledge for
three reasons:
l. To stop Chinese Communists
from invading Formosa or in
volving the United States in a
general war with the Chinese over
Korea. -.---,--
2. To reassure Great Britain,
which has recognized Red China,
that Americas Formosa policy
will not lead to a general Sino-
American war.
3. To satisfy India and other
Asiatic nations that the United
States has no imperialistic in
tentions anywhere in the Far
East.
Behind this three-pronged aim
is a State Department hope that
the United Nations ultimately will
take over the protection of
Formosa and finally decide that
islands future status.
The United States undoubtedly
will propose at the next U. N.
General Assembly meeting start
ing September 19 that the United
Nations look into Formosa's fu-
ture status in connection with the
investigation of its current pro-
lection by the United States 7th
Fleet.
Secretary Acheson already has
scheduled advance conferences on
this matter with British Foreign
Secretary Bevin and French
Foreign Minister Schuman at the
meeting of foreign ministers in