COLLECTION FINDING AID



NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
NSC EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC AFFAIRS STAFF: FILES, 1969-1977



CONTENTS

Summary Description | Introduction | Scope and Content Note | Related Materials | Series Descriptions | Container List


SUMMARY DESCRIPTION

Materials of Richard Solomon and his staff concerning U.S. relations with and events in specific countries in the Far East and Pacific Ocean; trips there by American officials; visits to the U.S. by Asian and Pacific leaders; U.S. territories in the Pacific; and meetings of the National Security Council, Washington Special Actions Group, and Senior Review Group.

QUANTITY
16.8 linear feet (ca. 33,600 pages)

DONOR
Gerald R. Ford (accession number 77-118)

ACCESS
Open, but some materials continue to be national security classified and restricted.  Access is governed by the donor's deed of gift, a copy of which is available on request, and National Archives and Records Administration regulations (36 CFR 1256).

COPYRIGHT
Gerald R. Ford donated to the United States of America his copyrights in all of his unpublished writings in National Archives collections.  The copyright to materials written by other individuals or organizations are presumed to remain with them.  Works prepared by U.S. Government employees as part of their official duties are in the public domain.

Prepared by Helmi Raaska, August 1997; revised March 2010; revised and expanded by Geir Gundersen, December 2011.
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INTRODUCTION

The "NSC East Asian and Pacific Affairs Staff Files" is a subcollection of the National Security Adviser Files.  The provenance of the Ford Library's National Security Adviser Files is described in Appendix A.

The NSC East Asia and Pacific staff provided foreign policy support to the President, Vice President, and National Security Adviser on bilateral and multilateral relations in the region.  This included, for example, the preparation of briefing materials, talking papers, schedule proposals, Qs and As, and courtesy messages.  The staff also served as points of contact for the Legislative branch, American businesses, inter-American organizations, and the general public.  It often assisted with Congressional and constituent services. 

The NSC East Asia and Pacific staff was headed by NSC Senior Staff Member Richard H. Solomon, a renowned China expert.  Solomon joined the NSC in August 1971 and carried over from the Nixon administration when Gerald Ford became President in August 1974.  Solomon left the NSC in July 1976 and was replaced by William H. Gleysteen, Jr.  Other staff members included Thomas J. Barnes, John A. Froebe, Jr., Kenneth Quinn, W. Richard Smyser, and William L. Stearman.

Scope and Content
The collection is comprised of eleven series.  Many contain materials from the Nixon administration, and the subject content of numerous series overlaps.  The materials tend to duplicate materials found in other collections (such as those listed under Related Materials), but some of the internal memoranda and supporting materials used in creating final versions of documents prepared for the President and Vice President may not be found elsewhere.

The Country File contains strong materials on the normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China; the Vietnam War within the realm of South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos; and the United Nations Command and US military presence in Korea.  

The Indochina Chronological File primarily focuses on the fall of South Vietnam and evacuation from Saigon, and the Mayaguez Incident, in which communist Cambodia seized a U.S. merchant vessel in international waters.

 The Subject File contains materials on the Vietnam War and U.S. relations with many of the countries in the region.  Of particular interest are memoranda of conversations from Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's and President Gerald Ford's meetings with foreign leaders, and several National Security Study Memoranda (NSSMs) regarding U.S. policy and security objectives in the region.

The Trip File contains material on trips made by Alexander Haig, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, President Gerald Ford, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller to such places as Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Paris Peace Talks, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, and Southeast Asia.

The Visits File contains material for head of state visits from Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia.  Also included is a private visit by the Australian Prime Minister during the Nixon administration. 

The Meetings File contains materials from meetings of the Washington Special Actions Group (WSAG), Senior Review Group (SRG), and National Security Council (NSC).  The primary topics are the evacuation from Saigon and the Mayaguez Incident, but there are also materials on North and South Korea, including the Korean Tree Incident, Philippine base negotiations, Taiwan, Thailand, and "US Objectives in the Asia-Pacific Area."

The materials in the Mayaguez File focus on the General Accounting Office (GAO) postmortem report on the Mayaguez Incident.  The President directed the Secretaries of State and Defense and Director of Central Intelligence to provide the GAO with detailed chronologies, copies of each verbal and written order, and observations or suggestions on the improvement of NSC machinery.

The Philippine Base Negotiations File contains detailed material from the 1976 U.S.-Philippine negotiations which ultimately led to a new U.S.-Philippine Facilities Agreement.

The Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea series contains materials on the NSC Under Secretaries Committee study on Guam and its proposal for negotiating a new political relationship; the future status of the Trust Territories of the Pacific; Ambassador William Kintner's report on "U.S. Policy Interests in the Asian-Pacific Area;" the UN Command in Korea; the military situation on the Korean Peninsula; and the status of the Korean Northwest Islands.   

The Richard Solomon Subject File pertains primarily to the People's Republic of China, including Secretary of State Kissinger's 1974 trip to the PRC, seabed exploration in the China Sea, and the PRC and U.S. Liaison Offices.  There is also information on the Interagency Group on Research and Education in Foreign Affairs.

The Richard Solomon Chronological File contains materials created in whole or in part by Solomon on the People's Republic of China.  The materials cover all aspects of U.S. relations with the PRC and include many analytical items reflective of Richard Solomon's expertise on Chinese affairs.

Related Materials (December 2011)
The most closely related materials are in the National Security Adviser's Presidential Country Files for East Asia and the Pacific, Trip Briefing Books and Cables of President Ford, Presidential Briefing Materials for VIP Visits, Presidential Correspondence with Foreign Leaders, Kissinger-Scowcroft West Wing Office Files, Kissinger Reports to the President on USSR, China, and Middle East Discussions, Trip Briefing Books and Cables of  Henry Kissinger, and U.S. National Security Council Institutional Files.  Several categories of the White House Central Files Subject File, especially country files, also contain related materials.  Researchers can identify the file locations of additional materials relating to East Asia and the Pacific or to specific countries from PRESNET search reports, which are available upon request.


Series Descriptions

Country File, 1969-76. (Boxes 1-12, 4.6 linear feet)
Memoranda, memoranda of conversations, briefing papers, reports, cables, and correspondence on U.S. diplomatic relations with countries of the Far East, in particular Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, People's Republic of China, Republic of China (Taiwan), and Vietnam.  Substantive topics include the Vietnam War, U.S. and refugee evacuation from South Vietnam, the Mayaguez Incident, the United Nations Command in Korea, normalization of relations with the People's Republic of China, U.S. policy and security interests in the region, and military assistance.         

Arranged alphabetically by name of country.

Indochina Chronological File, February-June 1975. (Boxes 12-14, 1 linear foot)
Memoranda, briefing papers, intelligence reports, cables, statements, and correspondence regarding the fall of South Vietnam and the evacuation of Saigon, the Mayaguez Incident, South Vietnam and Cambodia under communist rule, and refugees.

Arranged chronologically.

Subject File, 1969-76. (Boxes 14-16, 0.8 linear foot)
Memoranda, memoranda of conversations, briefing papers, correspondence, and biographies on a variety of topics including foreign aid, human rights, International Commission of Control and Supervision in Vietnam, military exercises, POWs/MIAs, U.S. policy and security objectives in the region, U.S. bilateral relations with most countries in the region, and the Vietnam War.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Trip File, 1972-76. (Boxes 17-20, 1.6 linear feet)
Memoranda, memoranda of conversations, briefing papers, reports, cables, correspondence, press releases, biographies, and newspaper clippings regarding trips by Alexander Haig, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, President Gerald Ford, and Vice President Nelson Rockefeller.  Included are Haig's 1972 and 1973 trips to Southeast Asia; Kissinger's trips to the Paris Peace Talks and in 1973 to the People's Republic of China; Ford's 1974 trip to Japan, South Korea, and the Soviet Union, and his 1975 trip to the Philippines and Indonesia; and Rockefeller's 1976 trip to Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Arranged chronologically by date of trip.

Visits File, 1973-76. (Boxes 21-23, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, memoranda of conversations, briefing papers, reports, cables, correspondence, press releases, and biographies for head of state visits from Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia, and Australia.  Also included is a private visit by Prime Minister GoughWhitlam of Australia during the Nixon administration.  The materials address U.S. bilateral relations with each country and multilateral issues within the region.

Arranged chronologically by date of visit.

Meetings File, 1973-76. (Boxes 24-27, 1.6 linear feet)
Memoranda, briefing papers, agendas, memoranda of conversations, meeting minutes, and notes from meetings of the Washington Special Actions Group (WSAG), Senior Review Group (SRG), and National Security Council (NSC).  Topics include South Vietnam, Cambodia, North and South Korea, the Korean Tree Incident, Thailand, Taiwan, the evacuation of Saigon, the Mayaguez Incident, Philippine base negotiations, and "U.S. Objectives in the Asia-Pacific Area."

Arranged chronologically by date of meeting.

Mayaguez File, 1975-76. (Boxes 28-30, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, briefing papers, chronologies, reports, memoranda of conversations, summaries, statements, meeting minutes, and cables compiled and created during a Mayaguez postmortem study conducted by the General Accounting Office (GAO) at the request of the President.  Included is the final report to the President.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Philippine Base Negotiations Subject File, 1976. (Boxes 31-33, 1.2 linear feet)
Memoranda, briefing papers, cables, meeting minutes, memoranda of conversations, reports, and treaty drafts from negotiations between the U.S. and Philippines for a new U.S.-Philippine Facilities Agreement.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea (with a copy of the Kintner report), 1973-77. (Boxes 34-37, 1.6 linear feet)
Memoranda, reports, briefing papers, and cables regarding Guam, the Trust Territories of the Pacific, and Korea.  Particular topics include the NSC Under Secretaries Committee study on Guam; the future status of the Trust Territories of the Pacific, in particular the Marianas and Micronesia; the UN Command in Korea; the military situation on the Korean Peninsula; the status of the Korean Northwest Islands; and Ambassador William Kintner's report on "U.S. Policy Interests in the Asian-Pacific Area."    

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Richard Solomon Subject File, 1974-76. (Boxes 38-40, 1 linear foot)
Memoranda, briefing papers, cables, memoranda of conversations, reports, correspondence, Qs & As, and notes pertaining primarily to the People's Republic of China.  Materials address Secretary of State Kissinger's 1974 trip to the PRC, seabed exploration in the China Sea, and interactions with the Liaison Offices of both the PRC and U.S.  There is also information on the Interagency Group on Research and Education in Foreign Affairs.

Arranged alphabetically by subject.

Richard Solomon Chronological File, 1974-76. (Boxes 40-42, 1 linear foot)
Logs, memoranda, briefing papers, cables, memoranda of conversations, reports, correspondence, and Qs & As on the People's Republic of China created in whole or in part by Senior Staff member Richard Solomon.  The materials cover all aspects of U.S. relations with the PRC and include many analytical items about the political scene in China.  Also included are Solomon's comments on declassification requests received by the NSC for documents on the Far East and Pacific, in particular China, and his handwritten and typed logs listing the documents in this file.

Arranged chronologically.


Container List

Box 1 - Country File
Box 2 - Country File
Box 3 - Country File
Box 4 - Country File
Box 5 - Country File
Box 6 - Country File
Box 7 - Country File
Box 8 - Country File
Box 9 - Country File
Box 10 - Country File
Box 11 - Country File
Box 12 - Country File
Box 12 (Continued) - Indochina Chronological File
Box 13 - Indochina Chronological File
Box 14 - Indochina Chronological File
Box 14 (Continued) - Subject File
Box 15 - Subject File
Box 16 - Subject File
Box 17 - Trip File
Box 18 - Trip File
Box 19 - Trip File
Box 20 - Trip File
Box 21 - Visits File
Box 22 - Visits File
Box 23 - Visits File
Box 24 - Meetings File
Box 25 - Meetings File
Box 26 - Meetings File
Box 27 - Meetings File
Box 28 - Mayaguez File
Box 29 - Mayaguez File
Box 30 - Mayaguez File
Box 31 - Philippine Base Negotiations Subject File

Box 32 - Philippine Base Negotiations Subject File

Box 33 - Philippine Base Negotiations Subject File
Box 34 - Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea
Box 35 - Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea
Box 36 - Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea
Box 37 - Working Files on Guam, Micronesia, and Korea
Box 38 - Richard Solomon Subject File
Box 39 - Richard Solomon Subject File
Box 40 - Richard Solomon Subject File
Box 40 (Continued) - Richard Solomon Chronological File
Box 41 - Richard Solomon Chronological File
Box 42 - Richard Solomon Chronological File