Amb. [William] Sullivan and the State Dept.’s impression that the Aide Memoire left by Sec. Alex [Alejandro] Melchor [Jr.] with Sec. of Defense [James] Schlesinger was an invocation of the Mutual Defense Pact by the Philippines.
I told him point blank that this was not so as we did not want the U.S. to have any troops fighting in a war we can handle; that this is a policy that dictates the AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] should be prepared to be capable to act where the U.S. cannot even if the U.S. interests are involved.