740.0011 P.W./4–1345
The Secretary of State to the French Ambassador ( Bonnet )
The Secretary of State presents his compliments to His Excellency the Ambassador of the French Republic and acknowledges the receipt of the Embassy’s note No. 304 of March 12, 1945, conveying the desire of the French Provisional Government to conclude with the Government of the United States an agreement analogous to the Franco-Allied agreement signed in London on August 25, 1944 and applicable to Indo-China.
Careful consideration has been given to the above proposal. The United States Government has consistently believed, and acted accordingly, that the development of military operations in the Far East must be aimed at the earliest possible defeat of Japan. Such operations require the concentration and use of all resources in armed forces, munitions, and shipping and, consequently, the diversion in the immediate future of such resources to specific military operations in Indo-China cannot be contemplated. In the circumstances, the Government of the United States knows of no useful purpose which [Page 307] would be served by the conclusion at this time of an agreement along the lines contemplated in the Embassy’s note under acknowledgment.