Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, East Asia and the Pacific, Volume XII, Part 1

790.5/11–2454: Telegram

The Ambassador in Cambodia (McClintock) to the Department of State¹

confidential

Phnom Penh, November 24, 1954—6 p.m.

296. Yesterday during Vorys-Richards² audience with King, latter, in response to question of his estimate of situation, said, “Cambodia is covered by Manila pact and within that framework of protection seeks to preserve its neutrality”. This statement contrasts with King’s previous reference to Manila pact when he addressed Nehru with remark that Cambodia had remained strictly neutral so far as SEATO was concerned.

McClintock

1. Repeated for information to Saigon; repeated by pouch to Bangkok, Karachi, Manila, Canberra, Wellington, London, and Paris.
2. Representative James P. Richards of South Carolina, ranking minority member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, was accompanying Representative Vorys on a tour of several Asian countries.