131. Action Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Cleveland) to Secretary of State Rusk1

SUBJECT

  • Security Council Action on Cambodian Complaint

You may wish to inform the President at lunch today of the nature of the Cambodian complaint to the United Nations about the recent border incidents and our plans to make the Security Council session as constructive as possible. As you know, we are embarking on a new course by proposing that the UN get involved actively in observing and patrolling the RKG-South Viet-Nam border.

On May 13, the Cambodian Government requested an urgent meeting of the Security Council to consider alleged acts of aggression by US-South Vietnamese armed forces against Cambodia. In particular, the complaint cited incidents on May 7 and May 8 in which GVN armed [Page 303] forces allegedly invaded Cambodian territory and killed seven Cambodians. The Cambodians also asserted that U.S. officers participated in these attacks. Cambodia requested that a UN group of inquiry be sent to investigate charges of Cambodian complicity with the Viet Cong. (Tab A.)2

Our best information is that SVN forces did violate the border as charged but that no Americans were involved.

We will seek to turn the Cambodian complaint against us and the GVN into a positive move to improve the security situation in the critical areas along the border. As a first step, we urged the SVN to revive its proposal for a GVN-Cambodian border commission, which they did. However, since a bilateral approach has consistently been rejected by the Cambodians, we have sought to add a sweetener in the form of a UN involvement in border control. As a starter, we have suggested that UN representatives be added to the bilateral commissions or, alternatively, that the bilateral commissions report to the Secretary-General through his representative in the area (Gussing), who was assigned to deal with the Cambodian-Thailand dispute. Secretary-General U Thant is cooperating with us in pursuing this idea and will talk to the Cambodians about it today. The French Representative (and Security Council President) Seydoux will also try to help with the Cambodians.

If the Cambodians balk at the foregoing proposals because they involve bilateral cooperation, we are prepared to consider another possibility:UN teams (in lieu of bilateral groups) charged with patrolling that part of the border where there is the highest risk of incidents. Such teams might also have investigative powers. We are still examining the details of size, logistics and costs of such an operation.

The GVN has reacted positively to a UN role. It is still uncertain, however, whether Sihanouk will accept any of these proposals, since his main objective seems to be a Geneva Conference to guarantee his neutrality. Even if he does not agree, we feel that by supporting these constructive moves we will be in the best possible posture in the Security Council.

The Communists may give us trouble on these proposals, alleging that the ICC has responsibilities for the area (and recognizing that the ICC serves their purposes better than would a UN observation group since the latter is likely to be more effective than the ICC). Also, we recognize that the border cannot be sealed even with a much larger UN group than would be feasible. Nevertheless, a UN observer group with substantial mobility should be helpful to us without serious risk that the UN will become immediately involved in the broader political issues of Southeast Asia.

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 32–1 CAMB–VIET S. Confidential. Drafted by Sisco and Buffum and concurred by William Bundy. A note on the source text reads: S[ecretary] saw.”
  2. UN Doc S/5697, May 13, attached, but not printed.