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.

Zhou Enlai and Nehru discuss Sino-Indian relations, as well as China and India's views toward Thailand, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Mao Zedong and Norodom Sihanouk discuss the deteriorating situation in Laos.

Deng and Tanaka discuss Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, and ASEAN, among other subjects.

Mao and Lon Nol discuss Chinese-Cambodian ties, Cambodia's relations with Vietnam and Thailand, and US policy in Southeast Asia.

Mao Zedong and Norodom Sihanouk exchange views on capitalist and imperialist countries, particularly on India, the US, Thailand, Yemen, and Iraq.

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.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry reported that Indonesia’s intention to hold the Asian-African Conference was to establish a neutral, third group to counter the US and the Soviet Union. It also reported the attitudes of the invited countries and the reactions of the Western countries toward the Conference. It concluded that it would be beneficial for China to participate in the Conference and to influence the political situation in the Conference.

The agenda of the Bogor Conference was to determine the purposes, timing, and participants of the Asian-African Conference. The five Southeast Asian countries agreed that China and Japan should participate in the Asian-African Conference, but some countries also insisted on the participation of US allies such as Thailand and the Philippines.

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.