However, the present situation, though serious, is by no means desperate or hopeless.

There is not going to be any appeasement.

I believe that there is not going to be any war.

But there must be sober realization by the American people that our legitimate purposes are again being tested by those who threaten peace and freedom everywhere.

This has not been the first test for us and for the free world.  Probably it will not be the last.  But as we meet each test with courage and unity, we contribute to the safety and the honor of our beloved land—­and to the cause of a just and lasting peace.

4.  President Eisenhower’s Letter to Premier Khrushchev,

September 13, 1958

Dear Mr. Chairman:  I have your letter of September 7.  I agree with you that a dangerous situation exists in the Taiwan area.  I do not agree with you as to the source of danger in this situation.

The present state of tension in the Taiwan area was created directly by Chinese Communist action, not by that of the Republic of China or by the United States.  The fact is that following a long period of relative calm in that area, the Chinese Communists, without provocation, suddenly initiated a heavy artillery bombardment of Quemoy and began harassing the regular supply of the civilian and military population of the Quemoys.  This intense military activity was begun on August 23rd—­some three weeks after your visit to Peiping.  The official Peiping Radio has repeatedly been announcing that the purpose of these military operations is to take Taiwan (Formosa) as well as Quemoy and Matsu, by armed force.  In virtually every Peiping broadcast, Taiwan (Formosa) and the offshore islands are linked as the objective of what is called the “Chinese Peoples Liberation Army”.

The issue, then, is whether the Chinese Communists will seek to achieve their ambitions through the application of force, as they did in Korea, or whether they will accept the vital requisite of world peace and order in a nuclear age and renounce the use of force as the means for satisfying their territorial claims.  The territory concerned has never been under the control of Communist China.  On the contrary, the Republic of China—­despite the characterizations you apply to it for ideological reasons—­is recognized by the majority of the sovereign nations of the world and its Government has been and is exercising jurisdiction over the territory concerned.  United States military forces operate in the Taiwan area in fulfillment of treaty commitments to the Republic of China to assist it in the defense of Taiwan (Formosa) and the Penghu (Pescadores) Islands.  They are there to help resist aggression—­not to commit aggression.  No upside down presentation such as contained in your letter can change this fact.