462. Memorandum From the Vice President’s Assistant (Burris) to Vice President Johnson0
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- Changes in Thai Policy Toward The West
During his visit in Southeast Asia, General Taylor held extensive conversations with Prime Minister Sarit and other leading Thai officials.1 As was anticipated, the current impasse between Thailand and Cambodia was perhaps the most controversial. The recent U.S. decision to provide limited amounts of military equipment for the Cambodians has had the undesirable effect of aggravating U.S.-Thai relations. General Taylor attempted to present the idea that armed support for Cambodia was necessary for the over-all defense of Southeast Asia. Sarit replied that the Thai people would never accept this reasoning since U.S. aid to Cambodia would simply be interpreted as a sword pointed toward the Thais. Sarit would not accept General Taylor’s view that U.S. aid to Cambodia would not precipitate trouble.
Discussions with the Foreign Minister, as well as military officials, clearly indicated to General Taylor that Thailand is determined to follow a more independent policy, certainly one less responsive to Western suggestions. This trend is not new. It was present during the crisis in Laos when U.S. troops were dispatched to Thailand, and it was further evident when the Thais boycotted the Geneva meetings.
- Source: Johnson Library, Vice Presidential Security File, Memoranda to the Vice President from Burris, July 1962–April 1963. Confidential.↩
- After President Kennedy nominated Taylor to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, of Staff and after his Senate confirmation hearing on August 9, Taylor visited countries in the Far East August 31-September 21. (Taylor, Swords and Plowshares, p. 256) Ambassador Young provided a summary of General Taylor’s conversation on September 14 with Sarit and other Thai officials in telegram 501 from Bangkok, September 16. (Department of State, Central Files, 611.92/9–1662)↩