UMassMUN XII

March 15th-17th, 2013

French Indo-China Joint Crisis Committee

Introduction to the Committee

This committee will focus on the fate of after 1945. To this point, the French government has fallen and been reinstated. Additionally, the Japanese government has a hefty presence in the region. Complicating the situation further, many territories in the region have declared their independence.

History

French Indochina is a territory grouping formed in 1887, including , Annam, Cochinchina, and the Kingdom of Cambodia. In 1893, Laos was added. The French left the traditional leaders in place, but they were more figureheads without any true power. The French made it illegal for the people to speak of a unified “,” but Annam seems to be the default term to refer to these people as a whole.

During the 1800s, the Foreign Missions Society made a concerted effort to spread Catholicism to the natives of the region. Despite converting roughly 764,000 people in the area, there was some resistance to the forcing of Western culture on the Eastern people. Many missionary priests of this society were persecuted, as the Nguyen Dynasty in Vietnam deemed Catholicism a political threat to its control over the people. The French used such hostilities as a pretext for military interventions. Such French interventions tried to ensure the unimpeded spread of Catholicism and eventually seizing territory. There was some pushback by the , such as those of Phan Ding Phung between 1885 and 1895.

World War II complicated the matter deeply. After the German victory in the Battle of Paris, France was formally ruled by the Vichy French government. This new administration, lasting between July 1940 and August 1944, collaborated with the of Germany and Japan. In September 1940, the Vichy French government was obligated to offer Japan military access and the right to build military bases in Indochina. Additionally, Japan believed that it had to offer “protection” to the Indochinese region given the weakness of the French owners.

Offering such rights to Japan signaled the extent to which France had weakened. Thailand decided to invade Indochina in October 1940 and was largely victorious in its aims. This is because Japan pressured France to accept terms that returned parts of Laos and Cambodia (including the Angkor Wat – the largest religious monument worldwide) to Thailand. Tensions between Japan and France are deep seeded. This is seen in the Japanese invasion of French Indochina in September 1940. Here, Japan wanted to prevent the Chinese from obtaining supplies through the region. The Vichy French government, though, regarded the Japanese as overstepping the terms of their treaty. Japan, however, disregarded the protests of the . In this struggle, the remaining French colonial soldiers fought the Japanese for most of the invasion. Japanese troops remain in this territory to this day, totaling seventy thousand.

While many of the natives called for independence, had the most success, creating the League for the Independence of Vietnam in May 1941.

By August 1944, the Vichy French government was dismantled and a provisional government was instituted. Beginning on March 9, 1945, the Second French Indochina Campaign was a struggle between the Japanese and this newly reformed French government. On March 9, the Japanese delivered an ultimatum, either the Colonial French officials surrender or likely be killed. This was seen when General Emile-René Lemonnier and Resident Camille Auphalle were killed after refusing to surrender. The French administration was effectively dismantled. The Japanese government encouraged independence movements in the of Vietnam, the Kingdom of Laos and the Kingdom of Cambodia in an attempt to subvert French control. Bao Dai of Vietnam as well as King of Cambodia complied with such Japanese recommendations for independence. The Japanese however believed the latter to be untrustworthy and ushered in Nationalist leader Son Ngoc Thanh, who was previously exiled in Japan. After being Minister of foreign affairs, he became Prime Minister. King Sisavang Vong in Laos preferred the French and did not declare independence. Bao Dai allowed some Etsumei, or members of the Annamese Independence Movement, into his cabinet. The Dai administration also reignited its desires for annexing the territories of Tonkin and Cochinchina. The Cabinet was so desirous of these areas that they threatened to resign in July 1945. Such moves were only quelled by Japanese promises to restore Tonkin and Cochinchina by September 1945. The Japanese, as they had done in Laos, had returned the friendly Prince Cuong De, and the Etsumei feared that Japan intended to replace Bao Dai with Cuong De. After long scale arrests of them, the Etsumei attacked the Japanese at Tonkin on July 24. British and French troops were parachuted into the territory to secure Indochina. The French forces were most successful in Laos, given the weak enforcement by the Japanese and friendliness of the people. The United States was hesitant to support France in its desires to hold onto the colonies. In fact, Lieutenant General Claire Lee Chennault only provided air support to the retreating French by stepping outside of his orders.

Ho Chi Minh also began fighting against the Japanese in Northern Vietnam, securing partial control over this region. Throughout the war, the United States supported Ho Chi Minh for its opposition to Japan. In August 8, 1945, Ho Chi Minh established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

After Japan surrendered and accepted the terms of the Potsdam Declaration on August 16, 1945, much turmoil brewed in the region. Many French residents wanted Japan to be liable for maintaining order, while many Vietnamese contemplated how to prevent a return of French rule. Many acts of terror took place across the region.

In an attempt to highlight the capability of the Vietnamese people to govern themselves, Bao Dai’s representative in described the creation of a “Political Affairs Committee” which was tasked with bringing about unity in Vietnam. The logic was that if Vietnam could prove that it could govern itself, it would have greater credibility in trying to keep France out. With permission from the PAC, the Independence Party held a mass meeting in Hanoi on August 19 to celebrate and hopefully consolidate power.

On August 20, Bao Dai sent a letter to the President reading:

“Addressed to the President of the United States of America:

Having learned that the Chief of the Provisional government of France will shortly visit Your Excellency for the purpose of determining the future status of Indo-China, we wish to inform Your Excellency that all the Indo-Chinese states have proclaimed their independence and are determined to retain it. Our people, in particular, do not regard the French population as their enemies, and will respect their persons and their properties; but they will resist with every ounce of their strength the re-establishment of French domination in any form whatsoever.

The day of colonial conquest is gone, and a people—especially the people of Viet Nam, who have 20 centuries of history and glorious past—can no longer be placed under the guardianship of another people.

May France bow before this truth, proclaimed and upheld by the noble American nation. May she recognize it with good grace, so that peace will come also to my country, which has already suffered so much from this war without having participated and which asks only to share the formation of a just peace for the world.

We entrust Your Excellency to communicate the contents of this message to the heads of the governments of Great Britain, China and the U.S.S.R. Please accept, Mr. President, the gratitude of ourselves and of all our people for Your Excellency’s kind and noble intervening on our behalf.”

Also on August 20, Bao Dai sent the following memo to France’s Charles De Gaulle:

“From His Majesty, Emperor Bao Dai, to General De Gaulle and the French people:

I address myself to the people of France, to the country of my youth, and also to her chief and liberator; and I wish to speak as a friend rather than a Chief of State.

You have suffered too much during four mortal years not to understand that the Annamese people, who have twenty centuries of history and a past frequently glorious, no longer wish and no longer can tolerate any foreign domination or administration.

You would understand even better if only you could see what is happening here, if you could feel this will for independence which lurks in the depths of all hearts and which can be repressed no longer by any human power. Even if you succeeded in re- establishing a French administration here, it would no longer be obeyed; each village would be a nest of resistance, each former ally an enemy; and your officials and colonists themselves would ask to leave this oppressive atmosphere.

I beg you to understand that the sole means to salvage French interests and the spiritual influence of France in Indo-China is to recognize openly the independence of Viet Nam and to abandon any ideas of re-establishing French sovereignty here or a French administration in any form whatsoever.

We could so easily come to an understanding in other ways and become friends if only you would cease undertaking to become once more our masters. Appealing to the well-known idealism of the French people and to the great wisdom of their leader, we hope that the peace and joy which have sounded for all the peoples of the world will be assured equally for all the inhabitants of Indo-China.”

The Etsumei became very inflamed and wanted Vietnamese independence even more so now than before. They began spreading propaganda in many languages, with “independence or death” and “Down with French ,” being spread far and wide.

On August 25, 1945, Bao Dai abdicated from Vietnam and the rest of his cabinet resigned their positions. In the collapse of this old regime, the Etsumei established the “Provisional Government of the Viet Nam Republic,” which is led by Ho Chi Minh as President. Although the regime changed, the commitment to independence was just as profound. The same overtones of freedom were found in a speech that Minh delivered on September 2, 1945, in which he cited the US Declaration of Independence. Also on this day, the new flag of Indo-china was waiving in Hanoi and Saigon.

The northern regions of Vietnam were peaceful, but Saigon saw a fair degree of violence during their celebrations on September 2nd. As a result, two Frenchmen and twenty Vietnamese were killed, while twenty- one Frenchmen and one hundred and twenty Vietnamese were injured. This event calls into question the legitimization of the Etsumei regime in Cochinchina, and it offers the French added justification for intervening in Vietnam.

Finally, it is important to consider the economic gains for the French in Vietnam. Many Vietnamese were recruited as farmers, who worked for long hours (up to 15 hours per day) and for very low wages from the French owners. The main outputs of such large-scale farms were rice and rubber. The latter was primarily located in Cochinchina and amounted to 60,000 tons, which represented 5% of the world’s total production in 1930. Despite such high output, these rubber plantations were home to many diseases such as malaria, malnutrition, and dysentery. Vietnam was also producing 80 tons of opium a year during the 1930s, yielding profit and a complacent populace as a result of addiction to it. France also controlled monopolies over rice wine and salt sales in the region. The combined sales of opium, rice wine, and salt totaled 600 million francs (about $5 billion current USD) per year. Clearly, it is in the French economic interest to retain the region, but this comes at such a high social cost to the Vietnamese people that this may be highly controversial in humanitarian terms.

Present Situation

Having endured the dropping of two atomic bombs, the Japanese have surrendered to the Allies and World War II has finally ended. With Japan forced to withdraw from the Indochina region, France would like to reassert itself in the region. There are some restrictions to achieving this, as the recent independence movement of Ho Chi Minh would require some costly action on the part of France. The reason to take a firm stance against Indochina is partly out of the economic benefits from the region, but also out of a desire to reassert its imperialist stance. Even the Vietnamese people face some doubt, as foreseeably high casualties may accompany their move for independence. Considering the support given by the United States during the war, Ho Chi Minh and his forces may consider reaching out to the United States based on principles of liberty and freedom from imperialism. Our half of the joint crisis committee will be to work in the best interests of the French people. We must seek to continue our positive and constructive relationships in Indo-China and must not let our moral influence be stripped bare by nationalist radicals who don’t understand the inherent good of the French people. We must do what is clearly in the best interest of the people of Indo-China, which is to continue our moral and political leadership in the region. We must not allow the Americans to become sympathetic to unfounded claims by nationalists that we are imperialistic thugs. We must continue to strive for military exercise and engage our allies in productive conversations about the future of the region. Above all, we must act in the best interest of the people of France. Below you will find topics to consider as you start your research, regardless of the perspective you come from during the conference. You are not expected to be an expert in all of these topics. Rather, we simply wish for you to keep these in mind while conducting your research. Try to see how these topics influence once another and how making a decision about one topic will influence the decisions you make about future ones. As this is a crisis committee, things will move quickly. You will be expected to think fast and sometimes have to choose between two lousy options.

Topics for Consideration:

1. French military intervention will face severe French casualties and it is very costly, which is extremely relevant after an expensive World War II that requires much money to fund reconstruction. 2. There would also be high civilian casualties since discerning who is a Minh supporter and who is a civilian is a difficult distinction to make. 3. Vietnamese want to achieve independence, but French will push for full imperialist control. 4. Not all Vietnamese want independence, as some see the revolution as not in their economic or peaceful interests. 5. The state of the French economy is very precarious. Is offering the Indochinese people independence in the economic interest of France? 6. How do other Indochinese people across the regions play into the matter? Is it fruitful or even possible to band together in opposition to the French? 7. The United States supports France, but it may not be willing to support French military endeavors in the region, since the US is opposed to France trying to reinforce its imperial stranglehold over a colony. The similarity to the American colonial plight against England may jeopardize the French alliance with America. 8. Severing ties with the US would not be in the interest of France, since the US is the only remaining Democratic economic power in the world. Therefore, if France follows through with trying to pursue its imperial power over Indochina, then it may risk estranging its relationship with the US. 9. Vietnam may consider making further efforts to appeal to the United States, capitalizing on its cognitive dissonance over the matter of French Imperialism.

Below you will find very brief summaries of the positions of the different factions of each side of the joint crisis. These are meant to help you craft ideas that you think might influence different factions across perspectives. Give thought to how these different factions work with one another as part of a larger government structure. You all have been assigned specific people that have been designated as belonging to one of the below factions. You will not be expected to embody how your character actually acted, but rather will be expected to properly represent the faction they are a part of.

Positions

French delegation:

• Military Personnel: Wants to intervene in French Indochina and reaffirm its control over the region. This bloc deals only with military aspects of Indochinese War. They care only about soldiers, supplies, and recognize Ho Chi Minh as an enemy above all else. They follow the "Glory of France" creed, yet are pragmatic enough to weigh the costs and gains from any actions.

• Left Leaning Politicians: This group would like to see France resume its imperialist policy in Indochina, but do not want to kill any locals in the region. Therefore, any action to oust Minh’s forces must discriminate between revolutionaries and non-revolutionaries. They also understand that Ho Chi Minh is not a Soviet revolutionary, but are not necessarily anticommunist.

• Right Leaning Politicians: This group believes that France needs Indochina. They would like to prove the “Glory of France” by asserting worldly dominance, and reclaim lost revenue during the World War II.

Indochinese (Vietnamese) Delegation:

• Ho Chi Minh’s Forces: These forces have fought the French military in many low-intensity conflicts. Although they want autonomy and self-government, they would not be opposed to discussion with the French military.

• French sympathizers: This group consists of bureaucrats and leaders that were in power during the French rule prior to the Japanese involvement. Although they would like to resume their former positions, these Vietnamese people may be swayed by the highest bidder.

• Moderates: These Vietnamese people are largely impartial, and will side with whoever will offer peace.