Office of the Historian

Conference files, lot 60 D 627, “CF 339”

No. 486
Agreed Minute on Southeast Asia1
secret
Washington, June 27, 1954.

A joint UK–US study group will be established at once in Washington to prepare agreed recommendations on the following matters:2

1.
Assuming France–Associated States and Viet Minh reach agreements on Indochina, which the US and UK are willing to respect— [Page 1128]
a.
the precise terms on which the UK and US might be willing to be associated with such agreements; and
b.
the basis on which the free Asian and other interested non-Communist states might be brought into association with the agreements.
2.
Assuming an Indochina agreement, the terms of a collective security pact regarding Southeast and possibly South Asia, designed—
a.
to deter and if necessary to combat Communist aggression by making it clear that it would be met by prompt and united action and would involve grave consequences;
b.
to provide machinery for effective cooperation in defense of the area against aggression and for assisting the lawful governments to resist Communist infiltration and subversion;
c.
to commit the members to take, in accordance with their constitutional processes, such action as is deemed necessary, including the use of armed force, in the event of Communist aggression covered by the pact;
d.
to protect Laos, Cambodia, and that part of Vietnam remaining free after any agreement, whether or not they are free to participate under the terms of the agreement.
3.
Assuming no agreement on Indochina—
a.
the form of collective defense pact for the purposes outlined in paragraph 2, which would be suitable to the situation;
b.
the action to be taken in respect of Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
4.
The procedure for bringing other interested nations promptly into these negotiations.

  1. Attached to the source text was a cover sheet which indicated that it was circulated within the U.S. Delegation as CEV MEMO–8b. The minute was agreed by Dulles and Eden at their meeting on June 27 (see Document 478).↩
  2. For documentation on the work of the U.S.–U.K. Joint Study Group on Southeast Asia, see vol. xii, Part 1, pp. 600 ff.↩