Editorial Note
In the course of his address of March 29, 1954, “The Threat of a Red Asia”, Dulles stated:
“Under the conditions of today, the imposition on Southeast Asia of the political system of Communist Russia and its Chinese Communist ally, by whatever means, would be a grave threat to the whole free community. The United States feels that that possibility should not be passively accepted but should be met by united action. This might involve serious risks. But these risks are far less than those that will face us a few years from now if we dare not be resolute today.” (Department of State Bulletin, April 12, 1954, page 539)
Certain documentation relevant to the origin of the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, including records of many of the consultations held by the Secretary with representatives of concerned powers on the “United Action” proposal, is printed in volume XIII in order that the main line of United States policy regarding that area in the early spring of 1954 may not be obscured. Other such documentation appears in the compilation on the Indo-chinese phase of the Geneva Conference in volume XVI, pages 727 ff.
Emphasis is placed in the present compilation on those papers which bear primarily on the eventual membership, terms, and structure of the Treaty and of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, and only secondarily on the immediate situation in Indochina.