Office of the Historian

400.1183/5–450: Circular telegram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic and Consular Offices 1

secret
Washington, May 4, 1950—10 a. m.
1.
Dept studying desirability raising in London FonMin2 talks question illegal arms traffic SEA and internatl effort reduce flow arms to dissident and insurgent elements. Outline present thinking follows:
a.
Effective measures curb traffic urgently required especially in view prospective implementation MDAP program for area. Efforts on wider than natl basis essential because of practical difficulties involved.
b.
Internatl conference reps independent states SEA and concerned Western states shld be held near future to discuss problem and means of solution.3
c.
Conference might consist of reps of SEA states: Burm, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, Phil and Indo; and of Western powers directly concerned question including US, UK, Fr, Neth, Port and possibly Aust and NZ. Desirable Western reps not outnumber Eastern reps conference. Accordingly, Aust and NZ might not be included unless they believed to be especially interested in participating.
d.
Conference agenda might consist of consideration measures dealing with arms smuggling traffic and any other related problems which states might wish to bring up.
e.
Conference might consider creation internatl comm which wld operate full time basis, having as functions:
(1)
keep problem arms traffic SEA under constant review;
(2)
serve as center for advising govts of area on techniques training personnel, details of licensing and enforcement systems and methods suppressing traffic;
(3)
receive and serve as clearing house for specific complaints with regard illicit arms traffic;
(4)
offer advice their respective govts on measures which might be taken suppress traffic, including possibly cooperative sea or air control measures, etc; and
(5)
perform such other functions as govts concerned may agree to accord it.
f.
Conference shld, if possible, be called by and held in independent FE state in area, preferably Thailand. An approach wld, accordingly, be made to Thai Govt whether it would be prepared to call such a conference.
g.
Believed improbable India, Pak and Ceylon wld be prepared to cooperate in project. Accordingly, they wld not be included but wld be informed of our approach to Thai Govt after it had been made.
2.
Dept wld appreciate your comments on idea including any estimate on acceptability to govt to which you are accredited or probable reaction that govt. Since matter has not had top interdepartmental clearance here, appropriate caution shld be taken avoid leaks.
Acheson
  1. Sent to Hong Kong, Manila, Saigon, Singapore, Djakarta, Rangoon, Bangkok, Canberra, Wellington, The Hague, Karachi, Colombo, and New Delhi; repeated to London and Paris.↩
  2. Documentation on the London Conference of the Foreign Ministers of the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, May 11–13, is scheduled for publication in volume iii .↩
  3. In a memorandum to the Secretary of State dated April 21, not printed, Dean Rusk, Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (since March 28), proposed that such a conference be convened (790.5/4–2150).↩