Evening star., 1953-02-03
On Formosu and the World

On Fornoso and the World
In ordering the United States 7th Fleet
to end its "neutralizing" role between Formosa
and the mainland of Red China, President
Eisenhower has dramatically illustrated the
meaning of one of the most pregnant sentences
in his message on the state of the Union. The
sentence is this: 1--WE have learned that the free
world cannot indefinitely remain in posture
of paralyzed tension, leaving, forever to the
aggreSsor the choice OF time and place and
means to cause greatest hurt to us at least cost
to himself"
When the Kremlin directed Communists
launched their Korean aggression in June of
1850, Mr.. Truman-then the President-in-
structed the 7th Fleet to do two things: C)
To prevent Red China from attacking Formosa,
the last stronghold of Generalissimp Chang
Kai-shek and his Nationalist Chinese forces,
and (2) to insure that the island would not be
used by those forces as a base of operations
against China's mainland. The arrangement
seemed at the time to be a reasonable and
sound measure designed to keep that area Of
the Far East pacided and to deprive Moscow's
Peiping puppets of any pretext for armed in
tervention against the United Nations in Korea.
However, whatever may have been its vir-
tue in the beginning, this "neutralizing" policy
became highly questionable just as soon as
Peiping-in the fall of 1950-sent its armies
across the Yalu to wage war against the U. N.
And ever since then particularly because the
Mao TSe-tung government has consistently re-
jected every proposal for an honorable armi-
stice the arrangement has become harder and
harder to justify. That is why most Americans
despite adverse reactions in countries like Brit
ain and France, will go along with President
It,
realistic one-"there is no longer any logic or
sense in a condition" that has required our
Navy to serve, in effect "as defensive arm" of
the Chinese Communists, thus permitting them,
with greater impunity," to kill our American
and allied United Nations troops in Korea.
OF course, at this STAGE no one can know
what consequences are likely to flow from the
Presidents decision on the 7th Fleet. Gen.
era1issimo Chang and his Nationalist forces
will now be free to harry the Chinese mainland
with air attacks and commando-like amphibi-
Gus raidS-strikes of a sort that could conceiv-
ably be developed into major headache for
the Peiping Reds, obliging them to divert some
of their strength from the Korean theater and
otherwise making them pay bigger price for
their criminal adventure there. BY the same
token, however, our side-particularly our Navy,
which will continue to protect FormoSa-muSt
reckon with the possibility of heavy counter
blows against the island and the creation of
new area of active warfare in the Far East. Ger
tainly, the risks involved ought not to be over.
looked or underestimated. The Mao government,
prodded by the Kremlin, is capable of hitting
back with great savagery
But such risks must be taken If the free
world is not to stay in "a posture Of paralyzed
tension" that leaves the initiative to the Com
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dominance seeking conspiracy under conditions
of their own choosing. AS far as the United
States is concerned, President Eisenhower has
made clear that he is determined to correct that
posture with "a new, positive foreign policy" not
only in relation to Korea and Asia as whole,
but to the entire globe-with continuing strong
emphasis on Western Europe. To that end he
has called upon Congress for true bipartisan
ship, and he has appealed to all minded
nations abroad-eSpecially in the Atlantic al
liance-for the fullest possible cooperation.
Apart from his decision on Formosa and a
somewhat puzzling recommendation that Con-
gress renounce past secret pacts dncluding pre-
sumably the Yalta agreement) which permit"
the enslavement of any people, the President
has outlined his foreign views in generalized
terms But he has been specific enough to indi-
cate that he intends, among other things, to
encourage world trade; step up the effort to
counter Communist propaganda pay close at
tention to Indo-China and Malaga in terms of
overall Asian strategy press for greater politi-
cal and economic unity in Western Europe, and
"give help to other nations in the measure that
they strive earnestly to do their full share of
the common task"
That task is to make the non-Soviet world
so strong that the Kremlin will not dare to pre-
cipitate an all-out war; but instead will eventu-
ally be persuaded to cooperate in building
good and enduring peace. It is great and
noble objective, and free men everywhere have
reason to pray that the Presidents program will