Office of the Historian

751G.00/5–1254: Telegram

The Chargé at Saigon (McClintock) to the Department of State

secret
priority
Saigon, May 12, 1954—5 p.m.
[Received 12:59 p.m.]

2356. Repeated information priority Paris 823, priority Geneva 91, priority London 59. DeJean sent for me this morning. He said his government had transmitted text of Viet Minh armistice proposals and asked for comment from him and Navarre. Although DeJean has not yet sent in his comment, as Navarre is still in Hanoi and he desired to confer with me, he said his reply will be that to accept Viet Minh proposal will mean complete capitulation.

DeJean reaffirmed need for US and France to sit down and exchange exceedingly candid opinions as to where each government stood and what each government could do to meet situation both in Geneva and in Indochina. I allowed him to read paraphrase of Deptel 2233, sent Geneva Tedul 46, repeated Paris 4002,1 and he was much encouraged to see that Secretary had already agreed that such an interchange of views was acceptable to US.

DeJean said that when he and Navarre sent in their joint comment he would insist that French make no rejoinder to Viet Minh armistice proposals before such a joint US–French appraisal of situation had been undertaken and common line of policy had been adopted.

Re published rumours that Western powers might seek to save something from disaster by bolstering Cambodia and Laos and accepting Communist domination of Vietnam, DeJean said that this would be worse than any Munich. Once Communists had Vietnam there would be absolutely no barrier between them and all of southeast Asia. Furthermore, such a victory would so enhance prestige of Communist China that entire balance of power in Pacific would be affected. On basis of his own experience as Ambassador in Tokyo he thought Japanese policy would commence to change and would tend toward rapprochement with new and powerful Peking. DeJean will give me text of joint report after he has seen Navarre and I shall telegraph summary.2

McClintock
  1. See footnote 1, p. 1516.↩
  2. See telegram 2384 from Saigon, May 13, p. 1557.↩