550. Confidential
For Spender from Tange.
Your 7201 —China
1. Peterson made some heavy–footed representations to Plimsoll on July 17th on the subject of press opinion,2 suggesting that, if Australian Ministers would not check drift in press opinion, Dulles might have to refer publicly to Australian press and indicate American views on China.3 Plimsoll warned him that such a course might well anger Australian public and that it did not seem to be in United States interests to broadcast that an ANZUS partner had a public opinion showing trend towards recognition. I notice Robertson was prudent enough to stop short of requesting Australian Government to inform press of United States opinion. My recommendation to Minister will be that we allow things to stand as they are and not offer to define Australian policy publicly by reference to American opinion even though it is a consideration to which Government gives great weight in its own assessment.
2. The State Department overestimates our capacity to manipulate editorial opinion.
3. Minister has seen this and concurs.4
[NAA: A1209, 1957/4832, i]
1 19 July. It referred to a conversation with Robertson on a report from the US Embassy in Canberra about Australian press editorials on recognition of China. The report had expressed concern that these editorials could ‘build up public opinion which, in turn, could influence Government on policy’. Robertson proceeded to comment at length on the strength of US public opinion against recognition—and he suggested that those in the Australian press who believed that US opinion had changed, ‘might be given some indication that this was not the case’.
2 Not published.
3 In a conversation with Spender on 5 August, Dulles ‘did not exclude’ the possibility of recognition ‘at some distant date’. But he added that it was a ‘fallacy’ to believe that the problem was confined to the election year in the United States: public opinion was very strong on the matter and would take a long time to change.
4 In a marginal note of 23 July, M.C. Timbs, an Assistant Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Department, wrote to E.J. Bunting, the Deputy Secretary of the same department: ‘What is important I believe is that editorial opinion should not be officially inspired in this case. I am not sure that a “climate of opinion” is not being created—off the record. It must put the PM [who, in late July, was to visit the US] in an invidious position—should we warn Sir Allen [Brown]?’