Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, East Asia and the Pacific, Volume XII, Part 1

790.5/12–154

Memorandum by the Assistant Legal Adviser for Far Eastern Affairs (Snow) to the Acting Director of the Office of Philippine and Southeast Asian Affairs (Young)

secret

[Washington,] December 1, 1954.

Subject:

• Legal Question Involving Participation of Associated States in Manila Peace Conference

1. Your memorandum of November 30, 1954 to L/FE Mr. Snow¹ asks what can be done to make a reality of the protocol to the Manila Pact in the matter of associating Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam with the Pact, in the light of the Geneva accords. You also ask whether there are any restrictions, implied or otherwise, in the Geneva accords which would prevent these states from attending as observers any meeting of the Manila Pact signatories, and what would be the increasing degree of participation permissible in ad hoc committees set up by the signatories.

2. Under Article IV of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty signed at Manila on September 8, 1954, each party recognizes that aggression by means of armed attack in the treaty area (South-East Asia, etc.) against any of the parties, or against any state or territory which the parties by unanimous agreement may designate, would endanger its peace and safety, and agrees that it will in that event act to meet the common danger in accordance with its constitutional processes. The parties also agree that if the sovereignty or political independence of any such party or state or territory is threatened in any way other than by armed attack, the parties shall consult immediately in order to agree on the measures which should be taken for the common defense. However, no action on the territory of any other state so designated shall be taken except on the invitation or with the consent of the government concerned. In the Protocol to this Treaty the parties unanimously designate for the purposes of Article IV the states of Cambodia and Laos and the Free Territory under the jurisdiction of the State of Viet-Nam. This is the protocol which you desire to “make a reality.”

3. The pertinent provisions of the Geneva accords are as follows:²

a. In the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Viet-Nam (20 July 1954) Article 19 reads as follows:

“With effect from the date of entry into force of the present Agreement, no military base under the control of a foreign State may be established in the regrouping zone of either party; the two parties shall ensure that the zones assigned to them do not adhere to any military alliance and are not used for the resumption of hostilities or to further an aggressive policy.”

b. At the Geneva Conference on July 21, 1954, the Royal Government of Cambodia declared:

“The Royal Government of Cambodia will not join in any agreement with other states, if this agreement carries for Cambodia the obligation to enter into a military alliance not in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, or, as long as its security is not threatened, the obligation to establish bases on Cambodian territory for the military forces of foreign powers.

“During the period which will elapse between the date of the cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam and that of the final settlement of political problems in this country, the Royal Government of Cambodia will not solicit foreign aid in war material, personnel or instructors except for the purpose of the effective defence of the territory.”

This declaration was incorporated as Article 7 in the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities in Cambodia (21 July 1954).

c. Similarly at the Geneva Conference on July 21, 1954 the Royal Government of Laos declared:

‘The Royal Government of Laos will never join in any agreement with other States if this agreement includes the obligation for the Royal Government of Laos to participate in a military alliance not in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations or with the principles of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities or, unless its security is threatened, the obligation to establish bases on Laotian territory for military forces of foreign powers.

“During the period between the cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam and the final settlement of that country’s political problems, the Royal Government of Laos will not request foreign aid, whether in war material, in personnel or in instructors, except for the purpose of its effective territorial defence and to the extent defined by the agreement on the cessation of hostilities.”

d. Articles 4 and 5 of the Final Declaration of the Geneva Conference, 21 July, 1954, read as follows:

• “4. The Conference takes note of the clauses in the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam prohibiting the introduction into Viet-Nam of foreign troops and military personnel as well as of all kinds of arms and munitions. The Conference also takes note of the declarations made by the Governments of Cambodia and Laos of their resolution not to request foreign aid, whether in war material, in personnel or in instructors except for the purpose of the effective defence of their territory and, in the case of Laos, to the extent defined by the agreements on the cessation of hostilities in Laos.
• “5. The Conference takes note of the clauses in the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Viet-Nam to the effect that no military base under the control of a foreign State may be established in the regrouping zones of the two parties, the latter having the obligation to see that the zones allotted to them shall not constitute part of any military alliance and shall not be utilized for the resumption of hostilities or in the service of an aggressive policy. The Conference also takes note of the declarations of the Governments of Cambodia and Laos to the effect that they will not join in any agreement with other States if this agreement includes the obligation to participate in a military alliance not in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations or, in the case of Laos, with the principles of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Laos or, so long as their security is not threatened, the obligation to establish bases on Cambodian or Laotian territory for the military forces of foreign Powers.”

4. It will be noted that the declarations by the Royal Governments of Cambodia and Laos differ from the agreement of the parties in the case of Viet-Nam. The Governments of Cambodia and Laos declare that they will refrain from joining agreements with other states only if the agreement is a military alliance not in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. Article VI of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty provides as follows:

“This Treaty does not affect and shall not be interpreted as affecting in any way the rights and obligations of any of the parties under the Charter of the United Nations or the responsibility of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security. Each party declares that none of the international engagements now in force between it and any other of the parties or any third party is in conflict with the provisions of this Treaty, and undertakes not to enter into any international engagement in conflict with this Treaty.

It is the opinion of the Legal Adviser’s Office that this Treaty is not a “military alliance not in conformity with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.” Hence, in answer to your questions, the Legal Adviser’s Office concludes that there is nothing in the Geneva accords which would legally interfere with any degree of association on the part of Cambodia and Laos with the Manila Pact. However, it will have been noted that both of these States have declared that they will not solicit foreign aid in war material, personnel or instructors except for the effective defense of their territory, and, in the case of Laos, to the extent defined in the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities.

5. In the case of Viet-Nam the parties to the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities have agreed severally that the zones assigned to them will not adhere to any military alliance^* This would certainly bar Viet-Nam from adhering to or becoming party to the Manila Pact. Probably it would also bar Viet-Nam from inviting or consenting to action on its territory by the parties, under Article IV of the Pact and the Protocol. However, it is the opinion of the Legal Adviser’s Office that the agreement would not bar Viet-Nam from sending observers to a meeting of the Manila Pact signatories, nor perhaps from participation in ad hoc committees set up by the signatories. Just where the line is to be drawn short of adherence or becoming party to the Manila Pact is not clear.

1. Not printed.
2. Full texts of the agreements and declarations cited below are printed in vol. xvi, pp. 1505 ff.
3. The French version reads “ne fassent partie d’”, which is translated in the Final Declaration “shall not constitute part of”. [Footnote in the source text.]