sTTEMPORARY ARCHIVES March 19- 1955. KEESING'S CONTEMPORARY ARCHIVES 14117 March 26z=AFilJ^

of the remaining members of the National Democratic p MARCH 26—APRIL 2, 1955 China, were reported to be massing troops in Fukien Province reporterenortedd to havhavee returnereturnedd ttoo ththe e NepalNeDali iCongress7froTm^ art:y ^e*> on the mainland opposite the islands. It was also reported National Democrats had broken away in 1952. At M Wtlieh the oir nl,ncA SITUATION. — Nationalist Evacuation that the Communists had brought up heavy artillery pieces demand the Council of Regency removed Mr. Acharva n A ^ a]a'B aU(l FORMy3£nchi islands. - Reinforcement of Matsu from office on Feb. 11. " Mr. j^C A opposite Quemoy, putting the whole of the island within range fTachenanai^ Bridsh> u#s#> Canadian and Indian of heavy artillery fire. After the Crown Prince had visited the King at \r ue consultations, King Tribhuvana issued a proelam *0f and Q ^°jA Offshore Islands. - Adjournment of U.N. An attempted assault by 40 Communist motorised junks on n Feb. 18 investing him with full royal powers and disso? • ° Statements se_fire# . Soviet Proposal for 10-Power Kaoteng Island (in the Matsu group) was driven off on March 4, whilst pebate on TT § Ratification of Defence Treaty with on March 14 the Nationalists announced that their aircraft had Council of Regency ; at the same time the CrownS?.^ ere c took over from Mr. Koirala responsibility f +? 06 Coof ?f f china - Increased U.S. Aid. - British Labour destroyed three Communist gunboats and seven armed junks west or 3 of Wu Yu Island, south-east of Amoy ; apart from these engagements 16 nt S ^ Resolution on Formosa. Corruption Department, the Central Intelligence Bur ^ ** there was little activity during February and March except for U an( the Public Services Commission. He appealed on p ? * * J ^lnnment of the international situation with regard exchanges of gunfire between Quemoy and the mainland opposite all the political parties to submit to him their prono *° detel and Nationalist air attacks on Communist shipping. for The £ ™ Nationalist-held offshore islands of China solving the political crisis, together with lists of their ] n the t0 The Chinese Nationalist Government continually reiterated tp t a(un F°bruary and March is described below under cross-headings. members ; the latter request was intended as a e g their intention to defend Matsu and Quemoy and not to

amount of support which the numerous parties (reportedd Evacuation of Tachen Islands. evacuate them, but opinion among the Western Powers remained to number 69) could claim. As Mr. Koirala was subseou+i° ^ ii^rfL repeated and heavy Chinese Communist air divided. In Britain, Sir Winston Churchill stated on Feb. 23 y unable to form a new Government, the Crown Prince annnnmtly F 1! ^n the Tachen Islands (see map, page 14017) the that there was " a great deal of difference " between the Un

on March 2 that he had accepted his resignation and° attacKs o ionaligt Government announced on Feb. 6 that coastal islands of China and the island of Formosa, whilst Woul(1

himself rule directly for the time being to end the u Chinese 1 ^ be evacuated. The announcement stated Sir Anthony Eden suggested on March 8 that the Nationalists uncertainty ; he would, however, constitute a new CounT nt ^Vfh^eVacuation had been decided upon " in order to meet should withdraw from all the coastal islands (see 14100 A). Ministers "at the earliest possible moment, after givinori In the United States, on the other hand, where a number of Ue 1 PW challenge of international Communist aggression," and proper weight to the voice of the people."—(The H ^ A n that the forces defending the Tachens could be redeployed leading Republicans argued that U.S. forces should go to the Madras - The Statesman, Calcutta - Times) (13587AJ strengthen the defence of other islands such as Quemoy, assistance of the Nationalists if Quemoy and Matsu were iifmi etc" The State Department in Washington had attacked, both President Eisenhower and Mr. Dulles refused B. INDO-CHINA. — Monetary and Economic Aer to say what U.S. policy would be in that eventuality. In ments between France and Associated States. - AboUti " nnced on Feb. 5 that, at the request of the Chinese n , Mr. Lester Pearson (Minister for External Affairs) of Indo-Chinese Economic and Customs Union. ° Nationalists, the U.S. Seventh Fleet had been ordered to help i athe evacuation of the Tachens. declared on March 24 that he did not consider a conflict over A four-Power conference of France and the Associated n Quemoy or the Matsus " to be a situation requiring any States of South , , and was held in The evacuation accordingly took place on Feb. 7-11, a TT S State Department announcement on the latter date saying Canadian intervention in support of the Chinese Nationalist Paris from Aug. 26 - Dec. 29, 1954, to discuss the revision of regime." The Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Nehru, stated on the monetary and economic conventions adopted in 1950 at that the operation—which was under the command of Vice- admiral pide—had been completed and that the U.S. naval Feb. 25 that the offshore islands were " obviously " parts of the Pau conference. A series of agreements was signed on r China and should be immediately evacuated by the Nationalists. Dec. 29, bringing to an end the economic and Customs union •ind air forces which had taken part would now " resume their normal operations in the Formosa Strait." The statement The attitude of the various Governments is summarized established under the Pau conventions, and containing the below. following provisions : added, however, that the U.S. forces would " be alert to any (1) From Jan. 1, 1955, each of the Associated States would concentration or employment of Communist Chinese forces Nationalist China. General Chiang Kai-shek stated at a press issue its own currency, superseding the Indo-Chinese piastre, obviously undertaken to facilitate an attack upon Formosa, conference on Feb. 14 that it had been made " perfectly clear " that and will be prepared to take appropriate action." The evacua­ the U.S.A. would defend the Matsu and Quemoy islands, as these and would fix its own exchange rates. Parity between their two outposts were vital to the defence of Formosa itself. In no case, currencies would be maintained during a transitional period, tion of the islands—which included also the small islands of Yuslian and Peishan, some 30 miles north and south of the he said, would they be abandoned to the enemy. Similar statements and the Vietnamese National Bank would continue to honour were made by the Nationalist Foreign Minister (Mr. Yeh) on Feb. 18 the signature of the former quadripartite monetary Tachens respectively—was unopposed by the Chinese Com­ and Feb. 25, and by the Prime Minister (Mr. Yui) on March 11. munists, who withdrew all their forces from the area. organizations. Britain. Sir Winston Churchill, in his statement, said that, as (2) Each of the three States would levy its own Customs The only incident occurred on Feb. 9 when a U.S. plane on anti­ there was no question of Britain being involved militarily in the duties and regulate its own foreign trade. submarine patrol was shot down by Communist anti-aircraft fire defence of the coastal islands, "we should be careful of what advice some 20 miles south-west of the Tachens ; another plane was hit, we offer to our friends and allies on it." " The decision on whether (3) Freedom of navigation on the Mekong was recognized. but landed safely. Vice-Admiral Pride announced after the incident Conventions would be negotiated on the conditions for the or when these particular islands should be evacuated," he continued, that the lost aircraft—whose crew were rescued by an American " is not one the burden of which falls upon this Government, and we passage of Cambodian and Laotian traffic on the river and destroyer—had made an error in navigation. must recognize the natural preoccupations of other Governments who through the port of Saigon. The U.S. Seventh Fleet, in a communiqu6 issued on Feb. 13, are immediately affected by the threatened attack from Communist M. Penn Outh, then Prime Minister of Cambodia, stated on said that it had employed 132 vessels and 400 aircraft in covering China. This is especially true at a time when the Chinese Communists Jan. 3, 1955, that the question of the attachment of the the evacuation, and that it had taken off 10,000 Nationalist troops, keep stridently asserting that the islands are to be regarded as a 4,000 guerillas, 14,500 civilians, and 40,000 tons of military equipment stepping stone to the seizure of Formosa itself, with all that that Cambodian piastre to the franc area would be discussed at a and supplies. forthcoming Franco-Cambodian conference on the economic must mean for the Chinese Nationalists, who have been given shelter Shortly after the completion of the evacuation the Communist and protection there by the U.S.A., and to whom the U.S.A. are and financial relations between the two countries, and that bound." meanwhile the piastre would maintain its parity with the New China News Agency announced on Feb. 13 that the French franc.—(Le Monde, Paris) (Prev. rep. 11429 A.) Chinese People's Liberation Army had "liberated Tachen, United States. Mr. Dulles made an important statement on the Yushan, and Peishan islands," that all "enemy-occupied" U.S. attitude when he addressed the Foreign Policy Association in C. ITALY. — Senate Ratification of Paris Agreements, islands off the Chekiang coast had now been "liberated," New York on Feb. 16. Speaking of the U.S. mutual defence treaty The Italian Senate, after a debate which had started on except the southernmost, Nanchisan island, and that the with the Chinese Nationalists he said that it was important to note Feb. 24, ratiiied the Paris agreements on March 11 by 139 votes liberation " of the islands had " created favourable conditions that the treaty, except where it related to U.S. territories, covered t le only the islands of Formosa and the Pescadores, and an armed attack to 82, with no abstentions. The Government was supported LT ! „ "deration of Taiwan (Formosa) and other coastal against them. He also drew attention to the fact that U.S. armed Tl T (Feb 7) the chine e not only by the three Coalition parties (the Christian Democrats, wf* A ?t }? ' s Communist radio had forces had not been used to help the Chinese Nationalists retain the Democratic Socialists, and Liberals) and by the Republicans, aeo « assistance in the evacuation of the Tachens Tachen islands, but had in fact helped them to evacuate the islands but also by the Right-wing Opposition (the Monarchists and •» a ^ war provocation against the People's Republic of China " and regroup their forces, thus avoiding " a bloody and wasteful the members of the neo-Fascist Italian Social Movement); tne and gr threat to the peace of the ." battle which would have inflamed public emotions." The U.S.A. a ave and Nationalist China had thus made an important contribution to opposing votes were cast by the Communists and the Left-win,, the cause of peace. Nenni Socialists. , Evacuation of Nanchi Islands. " It has been suggested," Mr. Dulles went on, " that the Chinese The debate was wound up by Professor Martino, tne *on«6j Sl nd (of which ant) solwiu ^ ? Nanchisan is the most import- Nationalists should go further and surrender to the Chinese Com­ Minister, who declared that Italy could not isolate herself ana ach ens and *ere eT,!.^ J 1 some 130 miles north of Formosa, munists coastal positions which the Communists need to stage their any neutrality on her part would be the end, not only or nef • y the Chinese ep about 6 fSoT Nationalists on Feb. 23-25, announced attack on Formosa. It is doubtful that this would serve participation in world affairs, but also of her independence. £ • r PS some 2 500 to those who had expressed fear of German rearmament, rr The evZuJ S"? > civilians being taken off. either the cause of peace or the cause of freedom. The Chinese Martino said that " in a certain sense we all share the responsIDU ^ Nationalist WhldJ was carried out desPite repeated Communists have been the initiators of violence in this area. They a,J at the islands would be have already formally declared their intention to take Formosa by t.hfi future of Germany insofar as her future democratic^develop^ ff °HS costs was T ^fended at force. Tf the ChinfiSfi Na.t.ionn.lists now nhlicrp, hv mnlH-nc if. finaiAr fnr»