The Council of the ANZUS Pacific Security Pact met in Washington on October 26, 1959. New Zealand was represented by Prime Minister Walter Nash; Australia by Minister for External Affairs Richard G. Casey; and the United States by Secretary of State Christian Herter. The representatives of the three member nations voiced their concern that the destructive violence in Asia of the Chinese Communists and their threat of a “liberating” war in the Taiwan Strait should continue to pose a serious threat to the peace of the world; they reiterated their conviction in this context that any resort to force of arms by the Chinese Communists in the Taiwan area or elsewhere could only be regarded as an international problem affecting the stability of the region.