892.01/3–1645: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
Washington, March
20, 1945—midnight.
2165. Reurtel No. 2730, March 16, and previous communications.
- 1.
- The close interest manifested by Sterndale Bennett in our discussions with the Thai representatives encourages us to believe that the Foreign Office shares our views as to the urgency of reaching some agreement on common policy toward the Free Thai Movement.
- 2.
- With reference to the British request for a copy of the Thai delegation’s memorandum, it is desired that you explain that that memorandum was presented as a tentative statement subject to modification during the course of exploratory conversations. We believe that the Thai representatives have already modified their original ideas on the basis of considerations brought out in those conversations and that therefore the contents of that memorandum cannot be taken as accurately reflecting their current views. We have already sent to you on March 19 by airmail51 a copy of a note delivered to the British Embassy on March 16 containing a statement of the essential points in the Thai representations. If the British Government considers that that statement lacks sufficient detail for its consideration of the problem we would be glad to ask the Thai whether they would wish us to make available to the British Foreign Office a copy of their original memorandum or alternatively a revised memorandum on the basis of their current views.
- 3.
- It has been our understanding that the Thai suggestion that the Thai-Indochina border question be referred to an Anglo-American arbitration committee was not intended as a proposal to be carried out at the present time but as a possibility to be considered in the post-war period. We would not favor making a commitment to the Thai on this point at the present time.
Grew
- Instruction 5227, not printed.↩