Foreign Relations of the United States, 1946, The Far East, Volume VIII

892.014/10–2346

The Siamese Delegation to the Department of State⁵

Memorandum

1. The Siamese Delegation forwarded without delay to the Siamese Government the Projet de Règlement Franco-Siamois, together with the Memorandum of the State Department and the Memorandum of Oral Statement, handed to the Siamese Chief Delegate by the State Department on October 4th, 1946.

2. Under instructions from the Siamese Government, the Siamese Delegation is authorised to agree in principle to the French proposal above referred to and to accept it as a basis for negotiation, subject to the following observations:

1) Article 1.—a. The Convention of May 9, 1941 should be annulled and not declared null and void;

b. No reference should be made to the Cambodian and Laotian Governments;

c. The declaration annulling the Convention should be a joint declaration of the Siamese Government and the French Government;

d. In the text of the joint declaration it should be made clear that Siam in pursuance of the ideals of the United Nations and in the interest of world peace has accepted the recommendation of the United States and the British Governments to agree to annul the Convention.

2) Article 2.—a. There should be no reference to a state of war between France and Siam;

b. The withdrawal by the Siamese Government of their complaint from the Security Council should be subject to the approval by that Council of the settlement arrived at.

3) Article 3.—a. Not only that part of the frontier covered by the Treaty of March 23, 1907 but also the parts covered by the Treaty of October 3, 1893 and the Convention of February 13, 1904 should be subject to examination by the Commission of Conciliation;

b. The Commission should start its work as soon as it is constituted and should finish its work within 6 months at the latest.

4) Article 4.—It is not clear what damages are referred to, and clarification is sought on this point.

3. As the Siamese Government and Parliament are anxious about the welfare of the population in the territories concerned, His Majesty’s Government desire to receive the following assurance from the French Government:

1) In the matter of nationality, the population should have the right to opt after the transfer of the territories, and should enjoy protection in regard to property.

2) Facilities and protection should be given for the evacuation of people who desire to leave the territories concerned. Fair treatment should be accorded alike to those who desire to remain and to those who want to leave for Siam.

3) The Siamese Government should have the right to establish a Consulate at Battambang.

4) In view of recurring raids into Siamese territory from Indochina, the French Government should give some definite guarantee that such raids from Indochina shall cease from now on because they deeply affect the sentiment of the people who, while having to bear a territorial sacrifice, have yet to suffer the loss of lives and property on account of these raids which, if continued, may give rise to serious consequences.

5) 200,000 tons of rice coming from the rice producing area now to be returned to France should be deducted from the amount of 1,200,000 tons which Siam is under obligation to supply to the United Nations.

4. The Siamese Delegation is thus prepared to proceed with the negotiation; and as the State Department has kindly offered its good offices to both the Siamese and the French Governments it is suggested that the negotiations may take place at the State Department.

Washington, October 23, 1946.

5. Handed by Prince Wan to Mr. Moffat on October 23, 1946. In a memorandum of the same date, Mr. Moffat gave a detailed account of his point-by-point discussion of the Siamese memorandum with Prince Wan. Mr. Moffat also stated in his memorandum: “Prince Wan said that he felt negotiations for the actual setting-up of the Conciliation Commission might await the conclusion of the agreement. He agreed that all three of the neutral members should be chosen in agreement with the French and jointly invited to serve as members of the Conciliation Commission. I commented that the choice of the members and the locus of the Commission were matters for French and Siamese agreement, but that I felt it would be desirable not to appoint officials of any of the three governments so as to avoid any belief that the decisions of the members—which should be solely on the merits—were influenced by their governments.… He then stated that his Government planned to appoint him as the Siamese member of the Conciliation Commission; and that his Government believed the neutral members should be nationals of the United States, Great Britain and China.” (892.014/10–2346)