CDKW00356 - Korea in Global Strategy?

In this note based upon communications with External Affairs, Canberra, successful negotiations with Peking were seen to be predicated upon as many members of the UN Forces making early contact as possible and deciding what political outcomes in Korea would be acceptable before negotiations commenced. In particular, there were concerns about whether Peking would negotiate if Formosa is off the table and under conditions that would provide security for Japan and the Philippines. However, some UN members were not convinced that Korea was deeply important to global strategy; on the other hand, Ottawa feared that US minimum expectations for political and military conditions were still too stringent to have any hope of successful negotiations to get underway. Given the current Chinese diplomatic position that any UN acts “without their position are illegal,” the Canadians were interested in opening up some informal channels of communication, such as a private diplomatic approach or a chosen individual, and testing out how amenable Peking would be to negotiations. The Commonwealth countries also wanted, if possible, to work alongside Asian countries within the UN Forces to present a unified front for negotiations with Peking.