Canberra, 20 August 1971
Secret
AUSTUNAT 608
The penultimate Cabinet decision* 1 on China said that we were not to take a vanguard role or be activist (April 1971 ).2 Nevertheless, the Department had got involved in a big way in a discussion of tactics by floating its own resolutions. Now it seems that the US, New Zealand and Japan are less impressed by these. Irrespective of the Department’s views on the merits of our own proposed tactics, surely we should now be pulling our heads in a bit and letting the US make whatever running is to be made.
2. Sir L. Mcintyre seems to go further than this and implies that we should give the US full support for its resolution. Otherwise, we will ‘raise some eyebrows’. Others (incl. US) don’t worry so much about raising eyebrows. Nor should we. Only Cabinet should decide the support we give to the US resolutions—i.e. whether we vote for, co–sponsor, or abstain.
- The last Cabinet Decision was 26/7,3 when, after some discussion, Cabinet expressed the view that the US might desert Taiwan. In between these Cabinet decisions, matters have been decided by the Prime Minister.
[NAA: A1838, 3107/38/18, xx]
1 Footnote exists in the original.
2 Document 172, paragraph (c).
3 Presumably, 20 July (see Document 217).