1. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE HO CHI MINH GOVERNMENT AND THE FREE LAOS 2. RELATIONS BETWEEN THE VIETNAMESE AND THAI IN NORTHEASTERN THAILAND

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R004600070004-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 13, 2000
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: March 31, 1950
• Content Type: REPORT

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Approved Foiri i ~~~ 3plq :A@1ADP82-0RjF3 0~$
O F O R F EP RT CD NO. 25X1A 4t,4
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY - Thai land/Indochina.
SUBJECT
PLACE
ACQUIRED
;)ATE OF
INFO.
1.,
25X1X
1, Relations Between the Ho Chi Minh Government
and the Free Laos
2; Relations Bat ;oen the Vietnamese and Thai in
25X1/~A] ortheastern Thailand
meeting in Udon
2 The Free Laos claim contrc L of two sizeable areas in Laos, each comprising
several thousand square Recontl ?,, the Free Laos liberated Mong
Sing;hn Communication bet- Bien the two areas claimed by the Free Laos is
dereandent upon No Chi Government communication channels, which act
ns r&.ay stations.. The tarnmunications agreement was made with Prince Soup-
hctnavong in Bangkok., * * *
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES 3
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW
The Free Lao movement now .i i lars!ely dominated both politically and mili-
tarily by Viet Linh elemor.13, vino also are supplying some financial and
material support to the Lr" s - Recently, Rouen (sic), Nguyen Due
Cuy@s deputy, Tran Van A1n,. nd certain unidentified Lao leaders hold
3, Thal. officials in nortieast Thailand recently have adopted a more aloof
attitude toward the Vi einamese in compliance with Thai Government orders,****
The Thai officials, hcp.ver, still are in sympathy with the general move-
uient of liberation fre:r, the French rule,
4,, The Thai .nd Lao pop?iation favor the Vietnamese liberation movement? Al-
though the'e is some 'ear of business competition from the energetic Vi.et-
25X1X nPmese, the native nhabitants g'et along fairly well with the Vietnamese
and resent t0 em muc! loss than they do the Chinese
Viet Minh ele1m0nts fear and hate the Thai officials in northeastern Thai.
.mild. This att.; ? .do jr, a now development and resulted from the recent Thai
.
Government rests otions on the Vietnarnesc, which included the closure of
i.heir cchoolsa 'Sao prominent Viet Minh leaders state that Thai officials
now are eoopera??ti *L . with the French in the capture of Viet Minh members
attomptinc; to entt r Thai land. *'r** Individuals captured are turned- over
t o the French. '%i Viet 14nh leaders promise to take rovenge on the Thai
officials at an ,pt. ,rtune time.
10N&Qf9V~114e
This document is hereby regraded to
CONFIDENT 1.1L in c?ccordance with the
letter of -;d Cc'o!ier 1978 from the
Director of C:en ral Inte!!egence to the
Archivist of the lln;tod states.
fty
%?b 20@O1c'0 : CIA-RDF
82-00457 R004600070004-4
 Approved For Release 2001/03/05: CIA-RDP82-00457R004600070004-4
CONlIDEi, `.f. is/coy.TR :iL - U.S. OFFI()I.9.LS ONLY 25X1A
7, The Vietnamese in Thailand live quietly, are obedient to Thai authority,
and do not display the aggressive attitude of the Chinese0**.**** One of
Tran Van An's functions is to see that the Vietnamese obey the Thai law,
The Vietnamese are employed in various capacities, except as servants.
The Viet Blinh organization forbids the Vietnamese to work as domestics*
The Vietnamese are most successful as fartners, mechanics and laborers.
Their success is attributed to three factors: as political refugees with
no financial resources, the Vietnamese were forced to work to exist; the
Vi~:tnamese charges less for his services as a laborer than the local in-
habitants; finally, the Vietnamese do their work with thoroughness.,
S, Th. Viet Minh organization in northeastern Thailand apparently receives
25X1X it.-, entire support from the Vietnamese population in the area - A
)atanvial portion of the contributions appear to be voluntar
Laoorers are reputed to save up to a quarter of their daily rice ration,
which they sell and turn the proceeds over to the Viet Minh. Members of
the professional class are said by Viet Minh leaders to mice up to 50 per--
cent of their income to the Viet Minh organization. According to the
Governor of Sakon Nakhon. only two percent of the Vietnauneso refugees favor
th Bao Dai Government.
25X1A
Viet Binh members are staying out of local politics. They prefer the
political philosophy of Pridi, particularly his Pan-Asian policy, to that
of Phibul. However, the Vietnamese are entirely concerned with maintaining
th.3ir position in Thailand and with pushing their own political aims, thus,
they are avoiding anything which would seam to be an alliance with dissi-
dent and out of power political factions in Thailand, which would only
se:;?ve to jeopardize their position and further alienate the Thai Government,
Comment. For previous reports on the relationship be--
25X1A twe;en the Viet Aii.nh elements and the Free Laos, and on the resis-
tance movements in Cambodia and Laos,
25X1A
Comment.-. The areas claimed by the Free Laos have not been
located. Presumably, the Laos are claiming all the territory not
actually occupied by the French,
25X1A
25X1A 4:*.w
25X1A
25X1A
25X1A
Comment
contain infornation on the relav:i.on.s between Prince Souphanavong
and the Ho Chi Minh Government?
Comment. further inform+ti,on on the
cia. s ,owarc this Vietnarne in northeastern
?hai.land oportu on Vietnamese personalities and acti--
:Fi ties in northeastern Thai land,-.
25X1X'y'F** Comment. lnstrand of cooperating with the French by intensi-
fying restrictive measures against the Vietnamese, the Thai authori-
tie* would do wall to adopt a more lenient attitude: In so doing:,
it seems probable that the Vietnamese ill-feeling toward the Thai
would be largely eliminated and the possibility of Vietnamese co-
operation with the Chinese would be avoided. Actually, the Viet-
namese are the most feared and effective business rivals of the
Chinese. Therefore, if Vietnamese friendship can be gained by the
Thal, the Vietnamese would serve as a valuable counterforce to the
Chinese in northeast Thailand, in the event of unrest.,
CONFID TIAL/CONTROL - U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
Approved For Release 2001/03/05: CIA-RDP82-00457R004600070004-4
 Approved For Release 2001 /03/05 : C V I V f 1 U 7A004600070004-4
CONFIDE /cONTAOL c U.S. 0FF1 C71Ls ONLY 25X1 A
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
25X1X
~Comrnent.. Although the Vietnamese in northeastern Thailand
arc peaceful at the present time, they are always a potential
danger. They number from 30,000 to 40,000 individuals, including
women and children, who are unified through the Viet Minh organi-
zation and the conmon desire for national freedom. Intense Viet-
naLnese dislike of .the Thai Government is increasing: as a result
of the Thai. Government cooperation with the French and the adoption
of restrictive measures.. such as, the closure of Vietnamese schools,
the prohibition of religious celebrations (Annamese Now Year), and
the adoption of aggressive police actions. Viet Minh propaganda
is extremely effective and widespread among Vietnamese refugees.
The propaganda stresses the qualititeR of unity, sacrifice and
obedience, but avoids the mention of Communism. If the Ho Chi Minh
Government .^:arts to take aggressive action against Thailand,
apparently they can count on the full cooperation of the Viet-
namese in Thailand.
CONFI ENTI AL/CONTROL m U.S. OFFICIALS ONLY
CONFIDENTIAL.
Approved For Release 2001/03/05: CIA-RDP82-00457R004600070004-4