No. 436
Editorial Note
Field Marshal Pibulsonggram, in a message handed to President Eisenhower on November 4 by his personal envoy, General Phao Sriyanon, who was then visiting the United States, commended the bold initiative of the United States in forming the Pacific Charter and Manila Pact to maintain peace and security in the Far East. In the message, requests were also made to the United States for the purchase of Thai rice, appropriate support for the development of the Volunteer Defense Corps, and assistance in the expansion and improvement of Thailand’s system of communications, particularly highways and railroads.
The President replied in a letter of November 10 that he had asked the appropriate elements of the government to study the questions raised in the Prime Minister’s letter: the purchase of rice, the development of the Volunteer Defense Corps, and the expansion and improvement of Thailand’s system of communications. (Eisenhower Library, White House Central files, Confidential file)