Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXVII, Mainland Southeast Asia; Regional Affairs

335. Memorandum of Conversation¹

Bangkok, October 29, 1966, noon.

PARTICIPANTS

• The President
• Prime Minister Thanom
• Thai Council of Ministers

1. The meeting moved slowly because of the need for translation. It also was rather formal, given the normal style of the Thais—quite unlike the intimate give-and-take of the Cabinet meetings with the President in New Zealand and Australia.

2. The Prime Minister first expressed the honor and privilege felt by the Cabinet in receiving the President.

He first wished to place on record the gratitude of the government and the people of Thailand for the military and economic assistance to that country over many years. It has strengthened their capacity to defend themselves and to grow rapidly.

Second, the Prime Minister understood that the Presidentʼs program had been heavy and he therefore only wished to confine himself to the main questions.

As for defense, they faced a systematic effort by the Communists to infiltrate and start guerrilla operations, notably in the northeast, but elsewhere as well. A special suppression command was under the direction of the Deputy Prime Minister. All elements, military, police and civil, work together. Since the new command was set up, the number of incidents had decreased, and the number of surrenders and defections from the Communists has increased. A sustained rural development program is underway.

This success is all to the good, but it is limited. The Communists have not given up. Chinese Communist leaders have stated that Thailand is the next object of attack. Therefore, all military forces in Thailand must be ready to meet the challenge on a contingency basis.²

1. Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Files of Walt Rostow, Asian Trip, Copies of Memos. No classification marking. The source text states that this was a partial draft prepared on November 2. No drafting information appears on the source text. Johnson traveled to Thailand on October 27, after the Manila conference, and stayed in Bang Saen and then Bangkok October 28–30. This meeting lasted until 12:58 p.m. (Ibid., Presidentʼs Daily Diary)
2. In White House telegram CAP 66960, November 12, Rostow sent Johnson a repeat of Bangkok telegram 6185 which provided a glowing assessment of Johnson visit to Thailand which Rostow suggested was “worth the heat and ceremonials.” Martin reported that in this meeting, the Thai Prime Minister, “on his own initiative, raised once again his belief that Thai interest requires a new and firmer commitment from the United States. Secy Rusk seized the opportunity to argue the matter in the presence of the whole top level of the Thai govt. At the end of the rebuttal Thanat was happy to drop the issue having received not one word of support from his colleagues.” Martin reported that Johnson in a subsequent conversation assured the Thanat of U.S. support “in personal as well as policy terms.” Martin suggested that for the time being the Thaiʼs were satisfied, but this feeling would erode over time. (Ibid., National Security File, Memos to the President, W.W. Rostow, Vol. XV)