Office of the Historian

790.00/4–1554

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of Philippine and Southeast Asian Affairs (Landon)

secret
[Washington,] April 15, 1954.

Subject:

  • United action among nations concerned with Southeast Asia.

Participants:

  • Walter S. Robertson, Assistant Secretary
  • His Excellency, Pote Sarasin, Ambassador of Thailand
  • Thanat Khoman, Thai Delegate at the United Nations, N.Y.
  • Kenneth P. Landon, PSA

The Thai Ambassador, Pote Sarasin, called by appointment to receive from Mr. Robertson a summary of developments during the Secretary’s visit at London and Paris as follows:

The public reports regarding the Secretary’s visit in London and Paris reflected the actual developments; the understanding reached with the U.K. and France was favorable to united action in Southeast Asia against Communist aggression; the Secretary’s efforts for “united action” were intended to determine the desires and inclinations of those nations concerned with Southeast Asia with respect to Communist aggression by inviting political decision and the results so far were favorable in that a number of the nations concerned had already replied favorably.

The Thai Ambassador said that he wished to inform his Government of the next step. He recalled that the Secretary, in inviting the Thai Government’s participation, had explained that first of all there should be political agreement and then the establishment of a military commission. Mr. Robertson said that what we had in mind was an organization similar to NATO, adjusted to suit the requirements of Southeast Asia, the members of which would determine the nature of their cooperation and the extent of their individual contributions.

[Page 423]

The Thai Ambassador inquired whether further developments would be deferred until after the Geneva Conference. Mr. Robertson said that the U.S. Government would continue to attempt to discover the desires and inclinations of the other nations in or concerned with Southeast Asia and that it would attempt to secure internal agreement with Congress in order to be enabled legally to engage in a Southeast Asia variety of NATO if and when the appropriate time came.