102. Editorial Note
On April 4, Secretary Dulles met with Ambassador Spender and other officials; Singapore and Malaya were among the topics of discussion. A memorandum of this conversation by Eric Kocher of the Office of Philippine and Southeast Asian Affairs reads in part:
“The Secretary stressed the disastrous results which a Communist takeover in Singapore might have on the surrounding area. Not only would the effect on SEATO be damaging, but Communist control once ensconced in Singapore would undoubtedly find it easier to spread into neighboring areas. Fortunately, the situation in other parts of Southeast Asia seemed to have improved over the previous year so that countries like Indonesia and Viet-Nam which were in rather precarious situations some time ago now find themselves in a stronger position to resist both Communist aggressive and subversive attempts. Returning to the problem of Singapore, the Secretary agreed with the Australian Ambassador that the British should not relinquish control of Singapore until they were sure that the Communist menace can be resisted.”
Later in the conversation Dulles and Spender explored possible means to concert Australian and United States policy on this question. (Department of State, Secretary’s Memoranda of Conversation: Lot 64 D 199)
For text of the portion of this memorandum devoted to Singapore and Malaya, see volume XXII, page 771.