Walter Robertson And The Forming Of American Foreign Policy Toward China

Walter Robertson was a diplomat whose reputation is not very well known within the Sino-US relationship. His position is not very high in the U.S. domestic department. However, he has played an important role in the development of China, the United States and Taiwan. President Eisenhower regarded him as "a tower of strength to Foster Dulles in the forming of policy". Therefore, this thesis attempts to prove that the lower-level diplomats in the certain U.S. Department of State are not simply the implementation of foreign policy by Robertson personal experiences. Their positions within their jurisdiction have a major say in decision-making power, which influence the formulation, change, and implementation of foreign policy and the direction of the American foreign decision.The thesis includes four chapters. The first chapter describes Robertson’s early China-related experiences, his temporary retire and a return to office8years later. Robertson came to China in April1945. At that time, he was the U.S. Embassy Economic Counselor and later promoted to vice ambassador. He participated in Marshall’s mediation work of the KMT-CPC conflict. After mediation failed, he returned home to temporarily withdraw from the political arena. Eisenhower came to power in1953. Under the suggestion of members of the Congressman ZhouYiDe, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles appointed Robertson as Assistant Secretary of State in charge of Far Eastern Affairs. This marked the formal return of the Robertson.The second chapter describes the important role played by Robertson in the decision making process to sign the "US-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty". In March1953, Taiwan "ambassador" in the United States Wellington Koo hoped to sign the "US-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty", but immediately encountered opposition from John Foster Dulles. Robertson did not agree Dulles’views. Robertson submitted4memorandums to Dulles in attempt to convince him to sign a contract with TaiWan. The first and second attempts ended in failure. The third attempt, although not successful, loosened some of the views of other departments of the State Council. The fourth attempt was ultimately successful.The third chapter describes the role Robertson played within the Sino-US ambassadorial talks. During the first Taiwan Strait crisis, China and the United States wanted to engage in dialogue to negotiate resolving bilateral issues. Dulles and Eisenhower decided to assign a "correspondent" to negotiate with china. This encountered opposition from Robertson. Robertson presented a proposal to upgrade the Sino-US consular-level negotiation to ambassadorial level and get the approval and praise of Dulles. Robertson’s status as a lower-level diplomat changed the decision of the president and the secretary of state, which proved its important role in the Sino-US relationship.The fourth chapter discusses whether or not the United States should have helped Taiwan defend its coastal islands. After the first Taiwan Strait crisis, the United States again debated whether or not to assist in the defense of the coastal islands. This was a controversial issue. Eisenhower and Dulles’views were different, resulting many debates in the State Council. The parties were deadlocked. Robertson submitted a memorandum entitled "Recommend Action to Meet the Taiwan Straits Issue". This discussed in detail the situation regarding the Taiwan Strait and the U.S. countermeasures. The memo represented the mainstream view of the State Council and won the Dulles’approval. Later, a joint meeting includes the Department of Defense, the State Council and other departments took place to create the six measures to help defend the coastal islands. The six measures were strikingly similar with the suggestions from the Robertson’s memo.Robertson, as a lower-level diplomat, played a crucial role in the tripartite relationship between the evolution of new China, the United States and Taiwan by his action.