751G.92/307: Telegram
The Minister in Thailand (Grant) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:30 p.m.]
119. I called on the Prime Minister Luang Pibul today and in the course of a conversation lasting 1 hour and 30 minutes regarding the general political situation as well as the immediate problem of the territorial dispute between Thailand and France I elicited statements and comments which are to be regarded as strictly confidential. I also presented to the Prime Minister the Naval Attaché and Attaché for Air Commander Thomas and the Military Attaché Jackson, The reception accorded by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs who was present was exceedingly cordial throughout. [Page 102] The principal points of my conversation with the Prime Minister which followed the presentation of the Attachés follows:
- 1.
- A settlement of the Thai-French dispute will be reached likely within the next few days in Tokyo, Thailand receiving the territories of Luang Prabang and Pakse on the right bank of the Mekong and in addition a section of Cambodia as far as the provinces of Battam-bang and portions of the provinces of Siem Reap and Kampong Thorn extending to the Mekong, as indicated in my telegram no. 104, February 23, 2 [3] p.m. Thailand has agreed to the French request that the entire zone shall be demilitarized and the rights of French nationals residing in the zone shall be fully protected. The Prime Minister said the Japanese had proposed a second plan to provide for the settlements on the north and east bank of the Mekong opposite Luang Prabang and extending in a northeasterly direction to the Chinese frontier and in addition a much narrower strip of territory in Cambodia than that mentioned above but the Prime Minister had rejected this proposal since it would place Thailand on the Chinese frontier. In this connection the Prime Minister made a curious statement to the effect that he had attempted to confuse the issue in Indochina by requesting large territorial concessions, Laos and Cambodia, “in order to tie Japan in a knot” and retard her southward drive which would endanger Thailand. He said he still believes that Japan plans to take over the whole of Indochina and predicted the total collapse of the French control. He denied that he was forced to accept Japanese mediation in the dispute with France but said he would have preferred to continue to negotiate exclusively with the French who had accepted Japan’s mediation first.
- 2.
- Japan would like to have military bases in Thailand and has recently urged the Thai to transfer some of their military forces from the eastern to the southern frontier opposite Malaya to check the British. The Prime Minister refused to accede to this request and actually transferred troops from the south to the east. Thai will resist the establishment of Japanese bases here, but must be strong in order to succeed. The Prime Minister admitted that efforts have been made to have Thailand join the Axis group but that Thailand has resisted the pressure and desires to remain neutral in the present struggle.
- 3.
- Japan is not going to attack Malaya now and will attempt to avoid a conflict with the United States and with Great Britain because of her economic situation but she will continue her program of expansion through intrigue and sabotage, raising the issue of race and color, in lieu of open attack.
- 4.
- If the war in Europe drags along it will be to the great disadvantage of England since there is likely to be trouble in her colonies. In this connection he mentioned India. The Axis powers will be weakened too but not to the degree of England which will tend to [Page 103] become an isolated island. As the result Japan will be the real winner in the Far East. It would be to the advantage of England and the United States therefore to bring the war to a close through a negotiated peace. The Prime Minister emphasized this point and indicated he doubts that England can win the war even with our help. He is greatly impressed with German military strength.
Throughout the conversation the Prime Minister indicated that he has no illusions regarding Japan and the potential threat to Thailand, that he hopes to avoid entanglement and believes the positive friendship of England and the United States will be of material assistance to this end.
I said to the Prime Minister that contrary to much publicity my Government’s policy, urging the strict maintenance of the status quo which we sincerely believed in the interest of all parties concerned, including Thailand, was not motivated by any antagonism or unfriendliness towards Thailand, that the United States had not attempted to sabotage the mediation conference at Tokyo as alleged and that the recent evacuation advice to certain American citizens in Thailand was similar to the advice given to Americans in other countries of the Far East and was not directed at Thailand. The Prime Minister responded cordially that he understood and appreciated these facts.