PSA files, lot
58 D 207
Report of the Joint United States–United Kingdom Study
Group on Southeast Asia1
[Extract]
secret
Washington, July 17, 1954.
Terms of Reference
By agreed minute of the meetings between the President and the Prime Minister
a joint UK–US Study Group was established in
[Page 1848]
Washington “to prepare agreed recommendations” with
respect to Southeast Asia.2
Meetings and Membership
The Study Group held its first meeting July 7, 1954. In all the group held
six meetings, the closing meeting being held on July 17. Chief US
participants were General Walter Bedell
Smith and Mr. Douglas MacArthur
II. The chief UK participant was Mr. R. H.
Scott.
Recommendations
Our recommendations are contained in the enclosed report to which are
attached three annexes. The recommendations are submitted by the members of
the Study Group without commitment on their respective Governments.
Publicity
The Group agreed that nothing should be said to the press about the work or
the recommendations of the Group, and that the line should be taken that
these meetings were technical and exploratory, without commitment on either
side.
- Douglas
MacArthur, II
- R. H.
Scott
[Enclosure]
The Report
item i
Terms of Reference:3
“Assuming France-Associated States and Viet Minh reach agreements on
Indochina, which the US and UK are willing to respect—
- (a)
- the precise terms on which the UK and US might be willing to
be associated with such agreements; and
- (b)
- the basis on which the free Asian and other interested
non-Communist states might be brought into association with the
agreements.”
- 1.
- There was discussion of the methods of association with such
agreements. The U.K. members preferred a
multilateral declaration to be signed by all the countries taking
part in the Indochina phase of the Geneva Conference and as many
other interested South and Southeast Asian states as possible. The U.S. members stated that provided
[Page 1849]
the agreements met U.S.
specifications, the U.S., at the conclusion of the Geneva
Conference, would be prepared to make a unilateral statement of U.S.
policy to the effect that the U.S. would respect the agreements in
the sense of applying thereto the non-force principles of Art, 2(4)
and (6) of the UN Charter. The U.S. would gladly welcome
non-Communist co-signers. The U.S. members
were not prepared to envisage negotiating the terms of such a
unilateral statement of U.S. policy either directly with the
Communists at Geneva, or indirectly through discussion of the terms
with the Indians or other countries.
- 2.
- The U.S. members defined an agreement which
the U.S. could respect as being one which (a)
in its view substantially fulfilled the seven points communicated to
the French by the U.K. and U.S. and subsequently accepted by France
(July 14, 1954);4 and (6) the Associated States
accepted.
- 3.
- The United Kingdom members pointed out that
the United Kingdom would wish to make a declaration in a form which
as many as possible of other interested States might feel able to
use. Some of these countries might not be members of the United
Nations, or not represented there. The United Kingdom might
therefore wish to avoid too many detailed references to provisions
of the Charter, and refer only to the general principles of the
United Nations, in order to secure as wide agreement as possible on
the substance and terms of a declaration in respect of an Indochina
settlement.
- 4.
- On the assumption that agreements are reached on Indochina which
the United States and United Kingdom members are willing to respect,
the UK members stated that the free Asian
and other non-Communist states should be encouraged to bring
themselves into association with the agreements on the same basis as
the US and the UK. The UK members considered
that the first step in securing the support of these powers for a
collective defence system would be to induce them to associate
themselves with an Indochina settlement. This would not only help to
make that settlement durable and effective; it would also be
valuable in the event of violation and in the event of an appeal to
the United Nations.
- 5.
- The U.S. members agreed that it would be
valuable to have free Asian and other interested non-Communist
states associate themselves with whatever declarations the US and
the UK might make. The US members stated, however, that the value
was not so great that the U.S. would be disposed to exert political
pressure on other non-Communist countries to associate themselves
with the declaration which the U.S. might make.
- 6.
Agreed Recommendations on Item I
The Study Group agreed that provided
agreements are reached which the two Governments can respect:—
- a.
- The U.S. and U.K. should each issue a declaration of
policy in respect of the agreements;
- b.
- The terms of the U.S. and U.K. declarations should be
as similar as possible.
- c.
- These declarations should conform to the purposes and
principles of the U.N. and should contain a statement
that the issuing Government would not use force to
disturb the agreements.
- d.
- It would be desirable for as many interested
non-Communist countries as possible to issue similar or
identical declarations.
. . . . . . .
