751G.5/4–2654: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Department of State
niact
Dulte 7. Repeated information Paris 113, London 67. Eyes only for Acting Secretary from Secretary. Repeated information eyes only Ambassadors London and Paris. Reference: Dulte 5.1 Following is conversation I have just had alone with Mr. Eden:
I asked Mr. Eden where we stood on our joint communiqué of April 13.2 He said that they were not prepared to examine the possibility of a collective defense which might commit them to fight in Indochina. It was definite that they were not prepared to fight in Indochina, and they were not willing to have any conversations which assumed that as a premise. The area which they are prepared to help defend would have to exclude Indochina. I said that it seems to me that the communiqué of April 13 clearly implied at least a collective examination of the possibility of a collective defense which would include Indochina. Mr. Eden said that subsequent study had already brought them to the conclusion that this was unacceptable if it involved their fighting, but if there was a peaceful settlement at Geneva which partitioned [Page 571] Indochina, then they might be prepared to include the non-Communist portion in the defense area.
I said that there were at least many critical military problems arising out of Indochina which need to be explored, and I thought explored with the French. I pointed out that there are vast stores of military supplies which the US might want to recapture and that quite possibly many of the French forces would seek to pass from Indochina into Siam. All of this would bear upon the defense of the area even assuming all or part of Indochina area excluded. Mr. Eden promised to think further about this matter, and I mentioned that Radford would be discussing this today with the British Chief of Staff.3
- Telegram Dulte 5, Apr. 25, contained summary of discussion between Secretary Dulles and Foreign Secretary Eden on Apr. 25. For text, see volume xiii.↩
- For a summary of Dulles’ Apr. 13 meeting with Eden, see the extract of telegram 4523 from London, Apr. 13, p. 514. For the text of the communiqué, sent to the Department of State from London in telegram Secto 2, Apr. 13, see volume xiii. The communiqué was issued as Department of State press release 192 of Apr. 13 and was published in the Department of State Bulletin, Apr. 26, 1954, p. 622.↩
- For Admiral Radford’s report, contained in telegram 4725 from London. Apr. 26, see volume xiii.↩