751G.92/3–2646
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Southeast Asian Affairs (Moffat)
M. Lacoste22 called by appointment at his request and referred to his conversation with Mr. Vincent on March 2523 in which he had requested this Government to send a telegram to Yost to stress again to the Siamese the importance of restoring the territories which Siam had acquired from Indochina. He stated that Mr. Vincent had promised that such a telegram would be sent reiterating our earlier position but not going further as M. Lacoste had requested because Mr. Vincent felt this Government should not put pressure on the Siamese to accept terms which the French might present in relation to matters other than the return of the territories. M. Lacoste inquired if such a telegram had been sent and I explained I had only just received a memorandum from Mr. Vincent with regard to it.
I then informed M. Lacoste that the British had recently suggested that we send a telegram along somewhat similar lines to urge the Siamese to commence negotiations with the French; that we had not done so because Mr. Landon when in Saigon had had a talk with M. Clarac24 in which M. Clarac had expressed his concern at the failure of the Siamese to send a delegation as promised to Singapore, that Mr. Landon had repeated this to the Siamese Foreign Minister when he was in Bangkok a few days later, and Seni Pramoj had thereupon explained that there had been a misunderstanding as he thought the negotiations had been called off when Clarac went to Chungking, but that he would take the matter up immediately and dispatch the delegation; that a few days later we received a telegram from Yost that the Siamese were about to send the delegation; and that, under the circumstances, I felt that a telegram such as that suggested by the British was no longer needed.
M. Lacoste reiterated his request that we send a telegram along the lines of our message of last October and requested that I let him know when such a message is sent.25
- Francis Lacoste, French Minister.↩
- Memorandum of March 25 by Mr. Vincent, not printed (892.014/3–2546).↩
- Achille-Marie Clarac, French Foreign Service Officer serving as Diplomatic Counselor to the High Commissioner for Indochina.↩
- In telegram 202, March 29, 4 p.m., the Department directed Mr. Yost to repeat to the Siamese Foreign Office United States views on the restoration of the Indochinese territories. He was also given discretion to “express US belief that early return of territories desirable stable conditions SEA and in Siamese interest but you should make clear US not familiar with other terms French may propose nor is it our intention to influence Siamese action on such terms”. (892.014/3–946)↩