751G.00/3–1552
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs (Allison)
Subject:
- Southeast Asia
Participants:
- Mr. F. S. Tomlinson, Counselor, British Embassy John M. Allison, Assistant Secretary of State
Mr. Tomlinson called at his request to leave a memorandum (copy attached)1 concerning serious views taken by the United Kingdom Government about the situation in Indo-China with particular reference to the possible weakening of French determination to continue the fight as well as the possibility of overt Chinese Communist intervention. Mr. Tomlinson said that the Ambassador had been instructed to approach Secretary Acheson on this matter but that in view of his imminent departure from the city he had requested Mr. Tomlinson to bring the memorandum to me with the thought that when Sir Oliver2 returns, in about one week, the Secretary might be able to give him any preliminary views of the United States Government. Mr. Tomlinson [Page 72] said he was instructed to refer to the conversations between Secretary Acheson and Foreign Minister Eden in Lisbon,3 at which time the Secretary had stated that he hoped it would be possible to have tripartite talks on Southeast Asia, with particular reference to Indo-China, in about a month or six weeks time.
. . . . . . .
Mr. Tomlinson was informed that the United States Government was urgently studying the situation in Indo-China with the view to being prepared, as the Secretary had indicated, for tripartite discussions at an early date. It was not possible to say at this time just when these American studies4 would be over, but it was hoped that it would be comparatively shortly. Mr. Tomlinson was also informed that if it appeared during the course of the coming week that there was any more useful statement which could be made to him, he would be called in. In response to a specific question, Mr. Tomlinson was informed that while the American studies were directed primarily to the situation in Indo-China they nevertheless were also concerned with the general situation in all of Southeast Asia.