CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1953/11/20

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03003743
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: July 15, 2019
• Document Release Date: July 22, 2019
• Publication Date: November 20, 1953

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INFORMATION
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CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO. ...519
NO CHANGE IN CLASS. VS .4.420,01;i00'"
CI DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO:. IS S C
NEXT REVIEW DATE: "POO 9
RUTH: HR 70-2
DATE: exge/za REVIEWER:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
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SUMMARY
GENERAL
1. Soviet trade mission reportedly to be sent to Burma (page 3).
FAR EAST
2. Rhee adamant on Japanese recognition of "Rhee line" (page 3).
3. Japan presses for quick transfer of Amami Islands (page 4).
SOUTHEAST ASIA
4. Evacuation committee believes Nationalist troops will be kept
in Burma (page 4).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5. Prospective Libyan crisis threatens to delay US base negotiations
(page 5).
6. Eden expects final decision on Suez talks before end of year
(page 5).
WESTERN EUROPE
7. Molotov seeks to influence choice of Austrian foreign minister
(page 6).
8.
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GENERAL
1. Soviet trade mission reportedly to be sent to Burma:
The Soviet Union will send a mission to
Burma to explore the possibility of a
trade agreement, according to the secre-
tary of the Burmese Ministry of Commerce.
He stated that the USSR contemplates an agreement on an open account
basis, not a barter deal, and that it would supply manufactured articles.
He added that Burma is mainly interested in disposing of its current
rice surplus.
The Soviet Union apparently made no reply
to Rangoon's official request of July 1952 for economic aid from the
USSR.
FAR EAST
2. Rhee adamant on Japanese recognition of "Rhee line":
President Rhee strongly insists that any
solution of the fisheries dispute with Japan
Is impossible without Japanese acceptance
of the "Rhee line." In this connection he
professes fear of Japan on security and conservation grounds and
opposes any arrangement which would conceivably permit Japanese
"infiltration" of Korean waters.
According to Ambassador Briggs, the
president apparently does not feel under any pressure to settle
outstanding issues with Japan on other than his own terms, and
views the proper role of American observers in future negotiations
as assisting in persuading the Japanese to accept his "just demands."
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Comment: Because of the importance of
this issue to Japan's food supply and national pride, Rhee's continued
stubbornness may soon force Japanese prime minister Yoshida to
meet rapidly rising public demands for strong action and for invoking
the American-Japanese security treaty. Yoshida has been persuaded
with difficulty to postpone retaliatory measures against Korea, pending
possible American mediation in the dispute.
3. Japan presses for quick transfer of Amami Islands:
The Japanese Foreign Ministry is becoming 3.3(h)(2)
extremely insistent that the negotiations for
the transfer of the Amami Islands to Japan
begin immediately. According to Ambassador
Allison, Foreign Minister Okazaki is apprehensive that failure to begin
transfer discussions prior to the opening of the Diet session on 30 No-
vember may prompt critical questions by the opposition parties regard-
ing American motives for the long delay.
Allison notes that the situation has reached a
stage seriously detrimental to American relations and that the plan to
relinquish the Amami Islands is beginning to boomerang.
Comment: Secretary of State Dulles an-
nounced in Tokyo on 8 August that the United States intends to return
these islands of the northern Ryukyus group to Japan. This reversed
the tide of anti-Americanism which had been gathering momentum
during the previous six months.
SOUTHEAST ASIA
4. Evacuation committee believes Nationalist troops will be kept in Burma:
Ambassador Donovan reports that American3 34.0(2)
and other officers in charge of the evacuation'
of Chinese Nationalist troops believe that Li
Mi, who is now on Formosa, intends to main-
tain a guerri a orce in :urma in contravention of Taipei's announced
policy. They feel that Li is supported by certain elements in the Na-
tionalist Ministry of Defense.
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According to Donovan, General Lu, who
came out of Burma on 17 November, asserted that Li Mi controls
the troops there through a three-man committee in Mong Hsat. The
committee had recently assumed control over all but 450 of the 2,000
troops which had been under Lu's command.
Comment: The Nationalist foreign minis-
ter told the American ambassador in Taipei on 18 November that al-
though Li Mi would issue a statement dissolving his army, Taipei
could do little if the "jungle generals" refuse to give up their bases.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5. Prospective Libyan crisis threatens to delay US base negotiations:
American minister Villard in Tripoli
expects a showdown between Prime Min-
ister Muntasser and King Idriss in mid-
December when the premier returns from
medical treatment in Europe.
Muntasser, at a recent meeting with
Villard in Frankfurt, stated that his position as prime minister
will become untenable unless the king grants him more authority.
Villard believes that there is less than
an even chance of Muntasser's remaining in office and that his de-
parture would indefinitely delay negotiations on the American base
agreement.
6. Eden expects final decision on Suez talks before end of year:
Foreign Secretary Eden expressed to
Ambassador Aldrich on 18 November
his belief that before the end of the year
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Britain would have concluded an agreement with Egypt or definitely
decided no agreement was possible. He felt there was an even chance
that an agreement would be reached.
Eden added that as long as he and Churchill
stood together he was not concerned about the reported back-bench
Conservative opposition to any withdrawal from the Suez base.
The Egyptian foreign minister told General
Robertson on 16 November that Cairo would do its best to "find an
answer" regarding availability of the base, but that both parties were
responsible for reconciling "two positions which did not really lie far
apart."
Comment: Discussions have been suspended
since 21 October. There is still fundamental disagreement between the
two countries regarding the conditions under which the base would become
automatically available to the West and regarding the right of British
technicians to wear uniforms.
WESTERN EUROPE
7. Molotov seeks to influence choice of Austrian foreign minister:
Soviet foreign minister Molotov, in a recent
conversation with the Austrian ambassador,
Indicated dissatisfaction with recent develop-
ments in Austrian policy and implied that. the
appointment of a more friendly foreign minister would have a favorable
effect on the USSR's policy toward Austria. He expressed an interest in
knowing who the new appointee would be and referred to the unfriendly
remarks and attitude of Interior Minister Helmer, retiring foreign
minister Gruber, and former chancellor Figl.
Comment: While the Kremlin would prefer
a more tractable Austrian foreign minister, there is no reason to expect
that such an appointment would inspire any basic change in Soviet policy
toward Austria. There are reliable reports that Figl, whose pro-Western
attitude is unquestionable, will receive the appointment.
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