Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Indochina, Volume XIII, Part 1

Conference files, lot 59 D 95, CF 157

Final Communiqué of the Washington Tripartite Foreign Ministers Meeting, July 10–14, 1953¹

[Extract]

Washington, July 14, 1953.

. . . . . . .

The Foreign Ministers were of the opinion that an armistice in Korea must not result in jeopardizing the restoration or the safeguarding ing of peace in any other part of Asia. They hope that any armistice accepted by the United Nations would be a step forward in the cause of peace everywhere, and in particular in the Far East.

The current situation in Indochina was examined. The three Foreign Ministers paid tribute once again to the heroic efforts and sacrifices of the soldiers of the French Union, be they from France, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos or other parts of the Union. They agreed that the struggle in defense of the independence of these three nations against aggressive Communism is essential to the Free World, and they exchanged views on various measures to hasten a satisfactory outcome and the restoration of peace in Indochina.

The Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom and the United States noted with great satisfaction the proposal of the French Government to open discussions with each of the Governments of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam with a view toward completing their sovereignty and independence. They agreed that this initiative was a most important and auspicious step toward perfecting a free association of these four nations, since the internal security and stability of the Associated States are best safeguarded by freely established constitutional regimes.

They noted that the French Union offers a harmonious and flexible framework within which the mutual interest of the participants may be guaranteed and their individual interests reconciled. They are convinced that the objective of the French Government is to perfect with the Associated States that mutually desirable cohesion which is indispensable to the success of the common struggle for the independence of the three states and which is therefore of fundamental importance to the security of the whole of Southeast Asia.

1. The final communiqué of the conference was released by the Department of State as Press Release No. 379 of July 14. For full text, see volume v, or Department of State Bulletin, July 27, 1953, pp. 104–106. The final communiqué, including the section on Far Eastern questions, was discussed by Secretary Dulles, Foreign Minister Bidault, and Lord Salisbury at the 4th and 5th tripartite sessions, July 13 and 14. At the 5th session, July 14, Bidault also circulated a memorandum which he described as containing “reflections” on Indochina. He stated that it was not a formal document and did not require immediate replies from the United States and the United Kingdom. The memorandum emphasized the interrelationship between the Korean War and the conflict in Indochina, and stressed the necessity for negotiations between the Western Powers and Communist China with regard to Indochina, possibly in the context of a political conference on Korea. The French memorandum accompanies the U.S. minutes of the 5th Meeting as Annex II. For partial texts of the U.S. minutes of the 4th and 5th tripartite meetings, see volume v. The complete minutes and the French memorandum of July 14, not printed, are in Conference files, lot 59 D 95. CF 158.

   On July 17, Secretary Dulles reported to the nation on the Foreign Ministers meeting in an address delivered over national radio and television. His remarks, which included reference to the Indochina discussions, were disseminated in Press Release No. 387 of July 17; for text, see Department of State Bulletin, July 27, 1953, pp. 99–103. For extracts from Press Release No. 387, see United States–Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967, Book 9, pp. 105–106.