During the first Taiwan Straits crisis in 1954, China began shelling the offshore islands Quemoy and Matsu, threatening to “liberate” Taiwan. As the US contemplated a possible nuclear attack on China, Australian Prime Minister Robert Menzies quietly told US President Dwight Eisenhower, “If there is a war over Taiwan, it is your affair and not ours.”
1954年首次台海危机期间，中国扬言要“解放”台湾，并开始炮轰近海的金门和马祖等岛屿。在美国考虑对中国发动核打击时，澳大利亚总理罗伯特·孟席斯悄悄对美国总统艾森豪威尔说，“如果目的是争夺台湾，这场战争和我们无关，只是你们自己的问题。”孟席斯是对的。他清楚美国目标和澳大利亚国家利益之间的区别。