A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of Warwick Permanent WRAP URL: http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/81565 Copyright and reuse: This thesis is made available online and is protected by original copyright. Please scroll down to view the document itself. Please refer to the repository record for this item for information to help you to cite it. Our policy information is available from the repository home page. For more information, please contact the WRAP Team at: [email protected] warwick.ac.uk/lib-publications 1 2 ‘Secret Towns’: British Intelligence in Asia during the Cold War Nikita Shah A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Studies Submitted March 2016 Department of Politics and International Studies University of Warwick 3 Table of Contents List of Abbreviations 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Chapter Outline 21 2. Methodology 25 2.1 Reading the Archive 25 2.2 A Lesson in Empire 31 2.3 Overcoming Archival Obstacles 38 3. Literature Review 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 Definitional Debate – What is Intelligence? 51 3.3 The Special Relationship 63 3.4 The Special Intelligence Relationship in Asia 71 4. Historical Overview 80 4.1 The Special Intelligence Relationship in Asia 80 4.2 The Remnants of Empire 81 4.3 China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan 84 4.4 Burma 87 4.5 India 88 4.6 Indonesia 91 5. The Watchtower: British Intelligence in Hong Kong 95 5.1 Intelligence and Chaos in Hong Kong 101 5.2 Failed Networks and Blind Spots 106 5.3 British Intelligence and the Residue of Empire 112 4 5.4 Sino-Soviet Tensions and Espionage 128 5.5 The Special Intelligence Relationship in Hong Kong 132 6. Beijing: An Embassy in Flames 138 6.1 Diplomatic Encounters in the Forbidden City 147 6.2 Spy Phobia 152 6.3 Information Insecurity 156 6.4 The American Intelligence Appetite 163 6.5 Intelligence Gathering in Beijing 168 6.6 The Dynamics of Intelligence Exchange 180 6.7 The Special Intelligence Relationship 182 7. ‘This Secret Town’: Hanoi 192 7.1 Britain’s Precarious Outpost in Hanoi 196 7.2 Collecting Intelligence on the Ground 200 7.3 Cypher Wars 205 7.4 Blurring Boundaries 212 7.5 The Despatches 218 7.6 Anglo-American Divergence 225 7.7 The Value of Secret Intelligence 235 7.8 A Voice from the Dark Side of the Moon 238 8. Conclusion 243 Bibliography 5 Acknowledgements First thing’s first, I’m the realist.1 Just as the international system is governed by a constant state of anarchy, so too has my life been characterised by utter chaos since mid-way through the PhD. This has been, without doubt, the most testing process I have thusfar endured, and, as such, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to those who have aided my pursuit of self-interest – or rather, survival – as I have sought to navigate my way through the disorder. The two people most crucial to my arrival at this point are without doubt are my supervisors, Richard Aldrich, and Chris Moran. They have had to endure my stubbornness, my fluster – and my gin – for the best part of four years. They were there not only to guide me through writing the thesis, but through professional development, career choices, and, ultimately, personal crises. The various opportunities and achievements that the PhD has brought would not have been realised were it not for their support. More importantly, their influence has ultimately shaped my mentality; they have inspired me to be assertive and ambitious, and have engrained in me a fearless mentality that is no longer worries about delving into the unknown. Given the manner in which this has shaped my general outlook, I am immensely grateful - they are not only mentors, but close friends, whose influence I value the most. I have been fortunate enough to undertake extensive periods of travel to the US for research, which was perhaps one of the most enriching parts of the PhD. I am grateful to the following funders, whose research grants were crucial to enabling my archival research abroad: the Warwick Humanities Research Centre, the British Association for American Studies, the Economic and Social Research Council, and the United States Army Military History Institute. I must also thank the Department of Politics and International Studies, without whose scholarship I would not have been able to undertake the PhD in the first place. 1 Adapted from Iggy Azalea and Charlie XCX, ‘Fancy’. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O- zpOMYRi0w. Last accessed, 3rd March 2016. 6 And where would I be without B1.15? My office has been my biggest anchor – Ilke Dagli, Rogan Collins, Bahadir Celiktemur, Clare Burgum, Lucy Hatton, and Harry, were a huge part of the PhD process, without whom I would almost certainly have floundered more so than usual. The banter, the swearing, mornings in the pub, and afternoons on fantasy football/roulette, and emergency gin were a rare source of sanity. Moreover, the solidarity from going through this tumultuous process together was what gave me a bit of an anchor in the harder periods. Thanks must also go to my fellow coursemates, including Lisa Tilley, Roberta Mulas, Ali Saqer, Daniela Richterova, and Roberta Mulas – all utter legends in their own right. Thank you all for putting up with my tornado, and being part of this journey. As for my two biggest partners in crime, I cannot express my gratitude enough. Zakia Shiraz and Davinia Hoggarth – you guys are the Kourtney and Khloe to my Kim. You have both been there through some of the utterly best moments, and helped me get through the lows, but it’s the times in between that I value the most – casual dinners, 11am gins, Daily Mail pages, and, of course, career killers. You’ve both taught me a lot about resilience and growth, and I am most grateful. I also wish to thank Bernadette McEvoy and Tim Kaufmann – two trailblazers whose advice got me through the hardest of times. Talking to them was the only real source of comfort when the process hit its lowest points; they gave me an underlying hope to cling to, having been through their PhDs, experiencing the darker points it can take you to, and coming out of it – thank you both so much. Thanks must also go to Mark Stout, Aaron Bowater, Conor Durham, Alex Sweet, Hiran Adhia, Ollie Dean, Tim Bradley, and Jessica Man, who have either been incredibly supportive throughout the latter phases of the process, or have provided a source of sheer normality when all else was spinning around me (maybe except you, Bowater). Mark was most supportive of the final stages of writing, and an excellent writing companion, Alex has been the most loyal drinking partner one could ask for, and Conor has patiently put up with my general mess as he has carved out his own PhD path. My fellow Huskies - Hanna Etim-Gorst, Maria Soricelli, and Simon Haley - have also been rocks at some of the 7 lowest points, and I am eternally grateful for the calm they have brought to my moments of flurry. I also wish to thank Owen Rye for his support – whilst the path has been rocky at best, he supported my decision to apply for the PhD at the very outset of the process, and I can only hope to be as encouraging and supportive as he experiences the struggle through his own doctorate. I would also like to thank my new colleagues for their support. Juggling both the thesis and a new career has been simply the latest test in this marathon, yet their patience and understanding has certainly relieved some of the burden, as have the various drinking sessions with my newest partner in crime. The job has also been more grounding than they will realise, and I am grateful for all the opportunities that have already come my way. I must also thank my family for their support, particularly for what must have seemed an obscure process at the best of times. In particular, I would like to thank Shanil for his attentiveness and diligence in proofreading over various chapters – especially Hanoi. His fresh pair of eyes lent a valued sense of perspective to the writing-up process, and helped to avoid the easy pitfalls of overcomplicating the use of language, or tangling myself up in nonsensical issues. I only hope to be able to repay the debt in advising with his own academic experience in the near future. His zeal for his own degree, particularly Columbus, is admirable, and something I can only hope to equal in future projects. Thank you all. 8 Declaration I declare that this is my own work and that it has not been submitted for a degree at another university. The following section has been submitted for publication: Chapter Six - ‘’This Secret Town’: MI6 in Hanoi’, in the International History Review, (2016), pp. 1-30. Available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/07075332.2016.1166445. Word Count: 84,919. 9 Abstract The British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) remains one of the most obscure and elusive government agencies. Despite its rich and often tangled past, the SIS withstood various challenges in the twentieth century to become a vital instrument in Britain’s foreign policy, offering both traditional intelligence gathering, and a covert action capability. Despite recent revelations about its Cold War history, knowledge about this organisation is uneven at best, and this is particularly so in Asia.