Thailand

The memoir of Trần Quang Cơ (1927-2015), former member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), brings to light the intense diplomacy among great powers and regional players over the continued conflicts in Indochina after the unification of Vietnam as well as the bitter disagreements within the Vietnamese leadership over the country’s political priorities during the period of 1975-1993.

Cơ put together his memories and thoughts on “many sensitive developments” in Vietnamese foreign relations that he believed had been “intentionally or unintentionally” forgotten (rơi rụng) in the state-endorsed history “to ‘smooth over’ (tròn trĩnh) the historical record.”  Completed in Vietnamese in 2001 (updated in 2003) and informally circulated on the internet, Merle Pribbenow’s English-translation makes this valuable historical source available to wider audiences.

The People's Republic of China maintains that the Taiwan issue was an internal issue of China, and it was the US who created tension by invading and occupying Taiwan.

Zhou Enlai and Pham Van Dong discuss North Vietnam's support for revolutions in South Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Report of a meeting with an emissary of the Viet Minh government who requested Soviet support for Vietnamese forces in their independence war against the French. Pham Ngoc Thach stresses the communist nature of the Republic of Vietnam's government, explaining that the Communist Party was only dissolved in 1945 "to avoid provoking a negative American reaction." Pham also discusses his meetings with the French Communist Party in Paris, and the situation in other Southeast Asian countries, including Malay, Indonesia and Thailand.

The note covers the background, achievements, and influence of the Asian-African Conference. It states that the Conference was initiated because Asian and African countries gained their independence after the Second World War and wanted to tackle the imperialism and colonialism. After the Conference, there was an increase of anti-imperialism sentiment among the Asian and African countries.