[R. G. Casey, Minister for Supply and Development, visited
Thailand in December 1939 while returning from his mission to
London. On 21 December he wrote to Menzies and Gullett to report
that the U.K. Minister in Bangkok, Sir Josiah Crosby, 'would
welcome any move that would make the presence of Australia felt to
a greater degree in Siam, and that to this end Crosby had
suggested that if Australia should open a legation in Japan or
China the Australian Minister might also be accredited to the Thai
Government. Casey explained the efforts being made by Japan to
wean Thailand away from friendship with Britain and France and the
interest of the latter two countries in concluding a non-
aggression pact with Thailand. France was, however, reluctant to
make the concessions of border areas of Indo-China which the Thai
authorities made a precondition of concluding a pact with France.

Casey argued that such a pact would be a stabilising factor in the
Pacific and a check to Japanese activities and urged that a
cablegram be sent to the U.K. Government suggesting that the
French Government be pressed to make the necessary concessions. A
fortnight later Menzies received circular dispatch B83 (sent 13
December 1939, received 3 January 1940) from the U.K. Dominions
Secretary, Anthony Eden. Eden enclosed a copy of the draft Anglo-
Thai pact of non-aggression sent to Crosby and asked the
Commonwealth Government to forward as soon as possible any
observations it might have to make. This dispatch was forwarded to
the Department of External Affairs. All the above documents are on
file AA: A981, Thailand 33.]

With further reference to your letter of 22nd December, 1939 [1],
regarding the foreign policy of Thailand, you will, I think, be
interested to know that, as a result of a suggestion made by the
Minister for Supply and Development to the British Minister at
Bangkok when they met there in December, the Minister is now
sending copies of his principal despatches to the Foreign Office
to me. This is a useful innovation which means that our
information about Thailand is much more up-to-date.

I have now considered a recent despatch from the Secretary of
State for Dominion Affairs concerning the proposal that Thailand
should conclude non-aggression pacts with France and the United
Kingdom. The position is that both the French and United Kingdom
Governments have informed the Thai Government of their readiness
to conclude such pacts. The United Kingdom Government has already
communicated to the Minister at Bangkok a draft agreement which is
based on a draft prepared by the French Government.

It appears that the refusal of the French Government to consider a
request by the Thai Government that the thalweg of the Mekong
River be adopted as the frontier between Indo-China and Thailand,
involving a surrender of certain territory by France, may render
the conclusion of a non-aggression pact between France and
Thailand impossible although this is not necessarily so.

The United Kingdom Government wishes the Commonwealth Government
to send any observations it has to offer on the draft pact by
telegram and, after considering the draft pact and the information
at my disposal, I suggest that a telegram might be sent to the
Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs in the following terms:-

'Thailand. Your circular despatch B.No.83 of 13th December, 1939.

Commonwealth Government would welcome conclusion of non-aggression
pacts between United Kingdom, France and Thailand on lines of
draft submitted by your Government to Thai Government. In the
event of conclusion of a pact between France and Thailand proving
impossible, it hopes that your Government would still be able to
conclude such a pact with the Thai Government.' [2]

I return herewith the original letter from Mr. Casey to yourself
and its enclosure [3] which you kindly sent to me with your
earlier letter.

[H. S. GULLETT]