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1. The area under consideration comprises Japan, the Ryukyu Islands, Government of the Republic of Korea, the Government of the Republic of China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vie Nam, Laos, Cambodia, the Federation of Malaya, Burma, Communist China, North Korea, end North Viet Nam. For the purposes of this paper, the area will be referred to as the "Far East."

2. The primary problem of U.S. policy in the Far East is to cope with the serious threat to U.S. security interests which has resulted from the spread of Communist power over all of Mainland China (including Tibet), North Korea, and North Viet Nam and which threatens other areas of the Far East.

3. The regime in Communist China has established and consolidated effective control over the mainland had has maintained and developed close working relations with the Soviet Union. It poses a constant threat to the other nations of the Far East. While there is now no reason to anticipate an early collapse of the regime nor any means of foreseeing when one might occur, inherently such regimes have elements of rigidity and instability which sometimes produce crises. The United States must be ready to exploit any opportunities which might occur as a result of any internal weaknesses. Rh