Indo-China Doubts
Thanks no doubt to a rigorous censorship, relatively little is known about the precise military situation in Indo-China. Paris is full of rumours, and they are of a nature to cause considerable anxiety. The death of General De Lattre de Tassigny was a heavy blow, though General Salan seems to be filling the vacant place as well as anyone could, and the explan- ation that the retirement from Hoa-Binh last month was a deliberate strategic retreat has carried little conviction. It is clear that France cannot stand indefinitely, or indeed much longer, the expenditure in Tongking of men and money which are urgently needed in Europe, and it is not surprising that in the absence of any signs of a military decision, or of the effective replacement of French troops by Viet-Nam troops, talk of a complete withdrawal from Indo-China should be gain- ing strength. But everything must depend on what would be likely to happen then. If Viet-Nam and Viet-Minh could sink their differences and preserve the independence of Indo-China against Communist China well and good. But the possibility of that is problematic in the extreme. India is watching the situation closely, with a view to offering her services as con- ciliator, but she evidently thinks the time is not ripe for that yet. Domination of Indo-China by Mao Tse-tung would be a grave matter in view of the country's contiguity to Burma arid Siam.
Previous page
