Page:Pentagon-Papers-Part V. B. 2. b.djvu/222

 751G.00/12-2951:TOP SECRET FILE

Foreign Office has given us aide memoire dated December 28 setting forth French Govt reply questions outlined DEPTEL 3613, December 21 and additional comment, informal translation of which follows:

"I. French command know military potential Viet Minh forces and follows its development closely. It knows these forces already benefit from Chinese aid in form equipment and material all kinds, advisers and technicians in Tonkin and training Viet Minh units or personnel in Chinese territory. There is, therefore, already certain Chinese Communist intervention Indochina, such intervention preserving for time being more or less concealed character.

"In order define criteria according which justification wld exist for considering there is attack or aggression against Indochina by Communist China, French Govt cld take into account either effectiveness Chinese intervention or form under which it appears.

"From last point view French Govt wld be justified denouncing Chinese aggression especially in following cases:

"Intervention by air forces under conditions such that their take-off from bases in Chinese territory cld not (rpt not) be technically contested (for example, medium or heavy bombers, modern or jet pursuits, for which no (rpt no) air strip now (rpt now) exists in Viet zone);

"Penetration martimemaritime [sic] forces Indochina territorial waters, when they clearly originate only from home ports outside Indochina peninsula;

"Identification Chinese combatants, volunteers or not, as individual reinforcements or as units incorporated among enemy forces. "From point

Rh