790.5/11–951
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chargé in Thailand (Turner)
| Participants: | Mr. G. T. S. A. Wallinger, British Ambassador |
| Mr. Aaron S. Brown, Counselor of Embassy | |
| Mr. William T. Turner, Chargé d’Affaires |
Subject: Thai Inquiry About Southeast Asia Regional Defense Pact
On the occasion of a call on the British Ambassador to present Mr. Brown, Mr. Wallinger said that a member of his staff had been approached recently by Lt. General Harn who sounded him out on the question of a regional or Pacific defense pact along the lines of the NATO in Europe. (Lt. General Harn Songgram is Chief of the Joint Staff Department, Ministry of Defense.) The British Ambassador said that in anticipation of further discussions of this matter with General Harn, he had communicated with the Foreign Office in London and had received guidance as to the nature of the reply which he should make to General Harn, and that he had been advised to consult with his American colleague before so replying. He said that in general his reply would be vague and would take the following line: emphasis would be placed on the United Nations rather than on regional pacts to maintain peace on the continent of Asia; and the United Nations action in Korea was concrete evidence of cooperative efforts by the United Nations to counter aggression.
[Page 255]The British Ambassador said that he was somewhat puzzled that the inquiry about this matter should have come from General Harn rather than from more ordinary sources in the Government; that on the occasion of a recent call on the Foreign Minister in company with Mr. Richard G. Casey, Australian Minister for External Affairs, he had rather expected an inquiry along this line and he and Casey were surprised not to have had anything said to them by the Foreign Minister about a regional pact. He asked me if I could throw any further light on this matter and whether I would agree with the proposed British reply.
At this point I told the British Ambassador that this same matter had come to my attention as the result of a conversation between an officer of the Joint Staff Intelligence Section and Mr. Bushner of our Embassy. This Thai official said that the National Defense Council, at the instance of the Government, had taken up for consideration the advisability of entering into a defense agreement with the United States along the lines of the recently concluded agreements with the Philippines, Australia and New Zealand. I said that Mr. Bushner had answered the Thai official in the sense of an instruction which we happened to have on hand1 to guide us in this matter, to the effect that military and economic aid now being provided Thailand is indicative of the very real interest of the United States in Thailand, and that the United Nations, which took prompt action on a case of aggression in Korea, is being relied upon by the United States Government to protect the interests of the nations in this part of the world. I informed the British Ambassador that I had later discussed this matter with the Foreign Minister and told him in effect that the United States was not now prepared to consider the conclusion of a defense pact with Thailand or any other continental country.
The British Ambassador said that he was very glad to have this information which confirmed that the attitude of the British and American Governments was much the same on this point and that he would proceed to inform General Harn, through the member of his staff who had been approached by General Harn, of the position of our two Governments.
Mr. Wallinger remarked that the Foreign Office had been keenly interested in General Hani’s query.