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.

Choi Duk Shin reports on Japanese PM Kishi's trip to Southeast Asia, the promotion of Korea-Vietnam cultural relations, the upcoming SEATO war maneuvers in Thailand, and other recent Vietnam and regional affairs.

In this draft, Choi Duk Shin warns that Japan's economic expansion is a serious threat which should be combated as actively as the threat of communism in Asia.

In this draft, Choi Duk Shin discusses the 'two-fold' threat of communism and Japanese expansionism in Asia, urging President Rhee to establish a solid collective security structure against these threats as soon as possible.

The two leaders talk about Vietnam, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the situation in Europe.

The participants in the Asian-African Conference had the common interest in pursuing international peace and national economic and cultural development. China should take the advantage of this Conference to promote national independence movement and to establish stronger relations with Asian and African countries. According to this goal, the plan listed the common issues that all participants faced, the issues that existed between China and other countries, and the issues that China alone was facing. It also spelled out the relations of China and different groups of counties in the Conference, as well as the logistic issues.

The Czechoslovak and Soviet security branches agreed to cooperate in the acquisition of documents and the sharing of information on hostile persons. The two parties committed to favorable relations within international organizations and joint counter-intelligence measures, articulating a focus on improving intelligence and counter-intelligence on the U.S. and its allies and China. Both parties vow to assist each other in illegal intelligence work and in the counter-intelligence monitoring of persons working for embassies, international firms or otherwise engaged in economic relations. The Czechoslovaks and Soviets agree to coordinate actions before providing assistance to security programs in developing countries, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and the Vietnamese Socialist Republic.