Documents on Canadian external relations

The Cold War in Asia continued to demand the sustained attention of Canadian policy-makers throughout 1955. Early in the year, the simmering dispute between Communist China and the Republic of China over Formosa (Taiwan) and the offshore islands of Quemoy and Matsu threatened to escalate into a direct Sino-American confrontation. As the United States prepared to defend Chinese Nationalist forces in Formosa against Communist attack, Ottawa recoiled from the prospect of renewed conflict in Asia. The crisis raised fundamental questions about the nature and limitations of Canada's Cold War alliance with Washington. For that reason, the documentation in Chapter VII traces in some detail Canadian efforts to mediate between the two antagonists, to restrain the United States and, finally, to distance Canada from the American crusade