CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN - 1954/06/05

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Current/Central Intelligence Bulletin Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03002535
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: August 20, 2019
• Document Release Date: August 30, 2019
• Publication Date: June 5, 1954

- Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
5 June 1954
Copy No.
80
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN
DOCUMENT NO. 40
NO CHANGE IN CLASS.
CI DECLASSIRED
CLASS. CHANGED TO: TS S
NEXT REVIEW DATE: t:)/t2
Milli: Ha 70,2
DATE: alaga REVIEWER:
Office of Current Intelligence
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
/
ryo
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
1 k.J1 1
"tgree
SUMMARY
FAR EAST
1. Japanese Diet disturbances may lead to new elections (page 3).
SOUTH:EAST ASIA
2. Communist journalist discusses Europeans in Viet Minh army
(page 4).
3. Thai premier's newspaper warns West against failure to support
free Asian nations (page 4).
4. Kachin force trained by Chinese Communists may have entered
Burma (page 5).
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5. Shah tells Indian ambassador US is bulwark against Soviet aggres-
sion (page 5).
6.
WESTERN EUROPE
71 West German officials warn against relaxation of COCOM controls
(page 7).
* * * *
2
5 June 54
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
IN.L.�
FAR EAST
Japanese Diet disturbances may lead to new elections:
Foreign Minister Okazaki has informed
Ambassador Allison that the Socialists'
premeditated resort to force in the
Japanese Diet on 3 June was a great
shock to the Japanese and a serious blow to democracy.
Comment: The riots were precipitated
when the Socialists seized the speaker's rostrum in order to prevent
a vote on a bill to centralize the police force.
The conservative parties have shied
away from new elections, primarily because of the shipping scan-
dals in which members of the administration were involved.
Yoshida may now feel, however, that the Socialists' irresponsible
behavior provides him with an opportunity to rally conservative ele-
ments and prolong his tenure through new elections at this time.
According to a press dispatch, Prime
Minister Yoshida's trip to the United States and Europe has been
Indefinitely postponed.
3
5 June 54
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
I .1.N.L.e
NSW
SOUTHEAST ASIA
2. Communist journalist discusses Europeans in Viet Minh army:
Wilfred Burchett, Australian-born
correspondent of the London Daily Worker,
when asked by a fellow journalist whether
the Viet Minh intended to enroll Foreign
Legion personnel captured at Dien Bien Phu in a "Communist Legion,"
commented, "As is well known, Westerners have fought in Ho Chi
Minh's army for some time." He added that these were predominantly
Germans but also included some Hungarians and French, and that he
had observed some in the Viet Minh army as it massed for the assault
on Dien Bien Phu.
Comment Almost from the outset of Indo-
china hostilities in 1946, the Viet Minh has used deserters of various
nationalities from the French forces, particularly the Foreign Legion.
One report of October 1951 alleged that European deserters served both
In independent units and as officers attached to Viet Minh regiments.
On 25 May a French official in Saigon cited
a report from a wounded officer evacuated from Dien Bien Phu that
"a number of foreign Communist officers... and unidentified Europeans"
had served with the Viet Minh during the Dien Bien Phu campaign.
3. Thai premier's newspaper warns West against failure to support free
Asian nations:
An editorial in the Bangkok Tribune on 2 June
asserted that because of the apparent reluc-
tance of the West to take an "all-out stand"
against Communist advances, many Asian nations are already taking a
"second look at their foreign policy." If these nations cannot count on
help from the free world, according to the editorial, they feel that it
would be "better to sign up with the Communists."
"Asian diplomatic observers" were said to
agree that failure of the United Nations to respond quickly to Thailand's
appeal would mean a further loss of prestige for the "United Nations
and the United States in Asia."
- 4 -
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 CO3002535-
5 June 54
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
,voir 1 �-/ 1. %..).1-A-.. INA�. a
Comment: The Bangkok Tribune, an
English-language paper, is owned by Thailand's premier. Its editorial
may have been designed as another step in Thailand's long-standing
efforts to win a firm American commitment to Thailand's defense.
The terms in which it is stated are much
stronger, however, than any used heretofore and may indicate that
Thailand is beginning to reassess its pro-Western foreign policy.
4, Kachin force trained by Chinese Communists may have entered Burma:
Chinese Communist-trained forces
under the Burmese Kachin renegade Naw Seng
had advanced to the vicinity of
the "headwaters of the Irrawaddy River" in northern Burma. There they
are reported to have established base camps and "joined up with the
guerrillas," apparently to engage in political activities.
Com.ment: Naw Seng is a former Burmese
army captain who fled to Communist China in 1950.
the
Chinese Communists in Yunnan have been training a Kachin force under
his command estimated to number approximately 1,500.
NEAR EAST - AFRICA
5.
Shah tells Indian ambassador US is bulwark against Soviet aggression:
The shah of Iran told Ambassador Henderson
on 31 May he had informed Indian ambassador
Chand in mid-May that Iranians were "pro-
American" because the United States seems
- 5
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
5 Iu.ne 54
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
'�, L V .LAJLe
',1100
more determined than any other great power to thwart Soviet aggres-
sive policies.
The shah said he also told Chand that Iran,
after long experience, is convinced the USSR is even more aggressively
inclined than Czarist Russia; that he is convinced the United States is
trying to prevent, rather than promote, another war; and that Iran can-
not accommodate its foreign policies to suite Prime Minister Nehru,
Comment: If the shah accurately reported
his statement, it is the strongest yet made by him to date on his posi-
tion on East-West relations. By making it to Chand, who had tried a
few days earlier to interest the Iranians in the possibility of a Soviet-
Western agreement 'guaranteeing the neutrality of Iran, the shah pre-
sumably made sure that his views would reach Moscow. The fact that
he discussed this subject with Henderson suggests that he will press
even more energetically for American military aid.
- 6 -
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535-
5 June 54
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
JJL�...) LA...1XL 1
WESTERN EUROPE
7. West German officials warn against relaxation of COCOM controls:
West German trade officials have advised
American representatives in Paris that in
their opinion the COCOM Consultative Group
meeting in July should consider whether it
is politically prudent to implement COCOM's decontrol recommendations
or whether in fact the control lists should be tightened. They said that
in any case, because of changes in the international political situation,
no items should be decontrolled before the July meeting.
The Germans suggested that London and
Washington make an immediate attempt to reach an agreed assessment
of the relationship of the general international situation to the current
COCOM list review.
Comment: The Consultative Group is
scheduled to meet in July following completion of the current COCOM
review of the export control lists, to act on the decisions reached in
this review.
A high French official has told American
embassy representatives in Paris that his government will soon announce
its opposition to any reduction in COCOM coverage for the foreseeable
future--a provision which may provoke sharp controversy in COCOM.
In response to British urging, all COCOM
countries, including the United States, committed themselves in April
to a substantial reduction in the export control lists.
7
TOP SECRET
Approved for Release: 2019/08/02 C03002535
5 June 54