207. Memorandum From William J. Jorden of the National Security Council Staff to the Executive Secretary of the Department of State (Read)1
SUBJECT
- Cambodiaʼs Territorial Integrity
North Viet-Nam and the Liberation Front have declared their respect for Cambodiaʼs territorial integrity within its present borders. This has been welcomed warmly by Prince Sihanouk. He has declared his intention to raise the level of representation with NVN and permit establishment of a Front mission in Phnom Penh as a result.
Several Governments have raised the question whether a similar declaration should not be made by non-Communist Governments, especially the U.K., Australia and the U.S.
I recognize all the problems and pitfalls in this matter—especially South Vietnamese, Thai and Laotian sensitivity.
But in this connection, I call your attention to Section IV of the Declaration of Manila2 which said, in part: “We do not threaten the sovereignty or territorial integrity of our neighbors, whatever their ideological alignment …”
This Declaration was subscribed to by the U.S., Australia, South Viet-Nam and Thailand, among others.
In dealing with the Cambodian matter, would it not be useful to call wide attention to this statement, to get all subscribers to use it when the [Page 451] Cambodian question is raised, and perhaps to call Sihanoukʼs attention to it through third parties?
Please call this to the attention of the bureau (EA). The President would like a prompt report on what can be done, or is being done, and any arguments that would suggest that Section IV language not be used for this purpose.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, POL 32 CAMB. Confidential. Initialed by Bromley Smith. A note on the source text indicates that William Bundy saw it.↩
- The Joint communiqué with statement and Declaration issued following the Seven-Nation Conference at Manila, October 24–25, 1966. For the text of the Declaration, see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1966, p. 871.↩