Editorial Note
From June 25 to June 29, 1954, British Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill and Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden visited Washington for conversations with President Eisenhower and Secretary of State Dulles. Numerous subjects of mutual interest were discussed, including the questions of Indochina, the Geneva Conference, and collective security in Southeast Asia.
The most significant discussion of Indochina in its Southeast Asian context occurred at a meeting between Dulles and Eden and their advisers on June 26. On June 27, Dulles and Eden approved an Agreed Minute on Southeast Asia, providing for the establishment of a United Statesr-United Kingdom Joint Study Group on the area. On June 28, Eisenhower and Churchill issued a statement summarizing their talks, which read in part as follows:
“We discussed Southeast Asia and, in particular, examined the situation which would arise from the conclusion of an agreement on Indochina. We also considered the situation which would follow from failure to reach such an agreement.
“We will press forward with plans for collective defense to meet either eventuality.
“We are both convinced that if at Geneva the French Government is confronted with demands which prevent an acceptable agreement regarding Indochina, the international situation will be seriously aggravated.”
For the records of the Dulles–Eden meetings of June 26 and June 27, the Agreed Minute on Southeast Asia, the statement of June 28, and related material, see volume VI. For additional documentation on aspects of the talks relating to a settlement in Southeast Asia and collective security arrangements for that area, see volume XII.