Office of the Historian

892.01/10–1545

The Siamese Legation to the Department of State 96

Exchange of Views Between the Siamese and French Missions at Kandy, Ceylon

At the beginning of October 1945, the head of the French Mission in Kandy approached the head of the Siamese Mission (which had been sent to negotiate with the British authorities) and asked him to inform the Regent of Siam that the Provisional Government of Siam [France] considered itself in a state of hostility with Siam but was nevertheless prepared to negotiate for the restoration of a normal relationship on the basis of a return to conditions prior to June 1940.

The head of the French Mission intimated that the French demands would be on the same lines as the heads of the agreement already offered by the British to the Siamese but without the annex to the agreement. He added that the French Government would demand the return of the territories retroceded to Siam in 1941 and, incidentally, the handing over to France of the image of the Emerald Buddha.

The following is the substance of the reply made by the Siamese Government through its mission in Kandy:

1.
The Siamese Government can find no ground for the French contention that a state of hostility exists between France and Siam as there have been no hostilities and no declaration of war since the conclusion of the treaty concluded early in 1941.
2.
The Free Siamese movement worked for the Allied cause against Japan in the same manner as the Free French movement. In the case of Indo-China, the U.S. and British authorities can testify that the Free Siamese Movement loyally and effectively supplemented the military information supplied by the French underground. At the present moment, the heads of the Free Siamese and Free French Movements have become heads of their respective governments.
3.
Throughout the war in the Far East, Siam has consistently maintained a friendly attitude towards France and Indo-China and has proved this attitude by giving shelter and assistance to French nationals who came to take refuge in Siam.
4.
In its desire to promote lasting peace in Asia, the Siamese Government is willing to negotiate with the French Government through normal diplomatic channels but not through missions sent to Ceylon for a different purpose.97
5.
As regards the immediate return of territories which France retroceded to Siam in 1941, the Siamese Government would contend that, quite apart from the question of the rightful ownership of the territories, it would be utterly contrary to humanitarian principles to project the peoples of these territories into an area where violent disorder and bloodshed have accompanied attempts at pacification. Besides, since their re-integration in the Kingdom of Siam, the peoples of the disputed territories have enjoyed the rights of full citizenship under the Siamese constitution and share in the government of the country through their freely-elected representatives in the National Assembly.
6.
The Siamese Government is however prepared, in a spirit of conciliation, to relinquish the administration of the disputed territories to a four Power Commission, representing the U.S.A., Great Britain, China and the U.S.S.R., so that they may supervise the holding of a plebiscite in due course.
7.
The French demand for the delivery to France of the image of the Emerald Buddha is regarded as unwarrantable and seems difficult to reconcile with any genuine desire to promote lasting peace and friendly co-operation.

[Washington,] October 15, 1945.
  1. Accepted unofficially from the Siamese Chargé (Bhakdi) by the Chief of the Division of Southeast Asian Affairs on October 15.↩
  2. In telegram 238, October 13, 10 p.m., from Colombo, Mr. Yost reported that after the Thai Delegation had stated its unwillingness to negotiate with the French at Kandy, the French representatives left Kandy (740.00119 P.W./10–1345).↩