S J and 178 1941 ~ober¢ Hopkins MiHer Cover: Cochinchinese shipping on the River Tai-fo. (Cover art prepared by Laszlo Bodrogi, based on an illustration in John Barrow, A Vox'a.~e to Cochinchina, Oxford in Asia Historial Reprints, Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1975.) theUNITED STATES and VIETNAM 1787 - 1941 theUNITED STATES and VIETNAM a787-1941 Ro~~ Mopk~ M~H~ 1990 National Defense University Press Washington, DC National Defense University Press Publications To increase general knowledge and inform discussion. NDU Press publishes books on subjects relating to US national security. Each year. in this effort, the Natiomd Defense University. through the Institute lot National Strategic Studies, hosts about two dozen Seninr Fellows whn engage in original research on national security issues. NDU Press publishes the best of this research, In adddion, the Press publishes othel c~pecially timely or distinguished writing on national security. :is well as new editions of out-of-print defense classics, and books based on University-sponsored conferences con- cerning national security affairs. Unless otherwise noted. NDU Press publications are not copyrighted and may he quoted or reprinted without permission. Please give full publication cre¢tit. Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Defense University. the Department of Defense. and other US Government agency, or any apency of a foreign government. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. llln'~trations on pages xiv. 2.5. 10. 12, 44. and 46 may be reprcxluced only with the written permission of the source. Proofread under contract by William A. Palmer. Jr.. Cheltenham. Maryland. Indexed under contract by Renee Loefller, System Analyties of Virginia. Inc. NDU Press publications are sold by the US Government Printing Office. For ordering infl)rmation, call (202) 783-3238 or write to: Superintendent of Documents. US Government Printing Office, Washington. DC 20402. First printing. October 1990 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Miller, Robert ttopkins. The United States and Vietnam. 1787-1941 ,, Robert Hopkins Miller. p. Cnl, Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. $10.00 1. United States-.Foreign relations--Vietnam. 2. Vietnam--Foreign relations--United States. I. Title. E183.g.V5M55 1990 327.730597--dc20 90-13317 CIP vi To Kaity, George, and Margaret, lbr whom Vietnam became much more than a faraway place ... CONTENTS Foreword ........................................... xi Acknowledgments ................................... xiii Preface ............................................ xv I MERCHANT SHIPS AND THEIR CAPTAINS The Fame and Captain Jeremiah Briggs ........... 3 The Brig Franklin and Captain John White ....... 6 II DIPLOMATS AND NAVAL VESSELS John Shillaber, US Consul in Batavia ............ 17 Edmund Roberts, Special Agent, and the Sloop-of-War Peacock ..................... 19 Edmund Roberts: Second Mission ............... 34 Joseph Balestier, US Consul, and Captain John Percival of the USS Constitution ........ 41 I!I COMMERCE, STRATEGIC THINKING, AND COLONIAL EXPANSION Daniel Webster and Commodore Perry ........... 57 Colonies and Consulates ....................... 66 France and China: A Growing Confrontation ...... 80 IV THE UNITED STATES' GOOD OFFICES The First Attempt: July-August 1883 ............. 89 The Second and Third Attempts: July-August 1884 ......................... 102 The Fourth Attempt: September-November 1884 ... 122 Breathing Space: Trade and Consuls ............. 137 V THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN: PRELUDE TO CONFRONTATION American Beginnings in Indochina ............... 151 Coming Confrontation ......................... 154 Arms Shipments, High Diplomacy, and Commercial Considerations ................. 159 VI JAPAN'S SOUTHWARD ADVANCE Japan's Southward Advance Accelerates .......... 175 Japanese Forces Occupy Tonkin ................. 192 Exploratory US-Japanese Conversations Begin ..... 217 The "Pudgy Thumb" Falls and Talks Resume ..... 234 Notes ............................................. 265 Chronology of" Events .................................. 287 Appendixes .......................................... 297 Index ............................................... 315 The Author . ......................................... 324 ILLUSTRATIONS Launching of the Ship Fame in 1802 ..................... xiv Jeremiah Briggs ...................................... 2 Jeremiah Briggs' Handwritten Log of the Fame's Voyage .... 5 King of Cochin China ................................. 10 Cochinchinese Soldier ................................. 12 Draft Treaty Between the United States and Cochinchina ..................................... 20-21 Record of Mission Undertaken by Edmund Roberts including letter from President Andrew Jackson ................ 26-27 US Frigate Constitution ....... "......................... 44 Lieutenant John Percival, USN .......................... 46 MAP East Indies Before World War I1 ......................... 174 FOREWORD As efforts continue to settle the Cambodia-Laos issue, Vietnam is again a focus of American attention• With the passage of time since the United States pulled out of Vietnam, American policy- makers have begun approaching the major Indochinese issues from new perspectives, particularly new perspectives toward that general region. As is so often the case, history, by informing, may also help illuminate these issues. In this book, Ambassador Robert Hopkins Miller, a diplomat with considerable experience in Southeast Asia, presents the early history of US-Vietnam relations. In 1787. President Thomas Jeffer- son first showed an interest in the region--then called Cochinchina-- for the purpose of trading for rice. From this beginning, Miller traces the ebb and flow of US diplomatic, economic, and strategic interests in Vietnam. Amply illustrated with excerpts from contemporary cor- respondence and official documents, the research shows Vietnam's intricate relationship with China, the gradually increasing commercial involvement of the Western powers, and the impact of Japan's expan- sionist policy• The chapters building up to World War II are par- ticularly informative as they demonstrate, among other matters, the responsibility of national leaders to identify unambiguous political aims. In documenting the early development of US-Vietnam relations, the author has provided a service for historians and contemporary analysts alike. In presenting the long view of historical perspective, Ambassador Miller has enhanced our understanding of this area of the world. Vice Admiral, US Navy President, National Defense University xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS i would like to acknowledge with gratitude the assistance given me on this manuscript: To Lieutenant General Bradley C. Hosmer, US Air Force, former President, National Defense University, whom I served as Vice Presi- dent of the University, and who supported my research and encour- aged publication; To Dr. Fred Kiley, Director of the Research Directorate, National Defense University, tbr encouraging me to complete the manuscript and revise it for publication; To Major Kent Esbenshade, US Air Force Academy, for a careful editing of the completed manuscript; To Dr. Dora Alves, Research Directorate, National Defense Univer- sity, who spent many long hours as my editor assisting and advising me with great skill and patience; To Mrs. Susan Lemke, Director, Special Collections, National Defense University Library, for her intrepid work in tracking down early documents, drawings, and photographs to illustrate the book; To my son, George Keith Miller, who assisted me in the research on early American sailing vessels reaching Vietnam; To my daughter, Margaret Helen Miller, for an initial editing and typing of the manuscript; To Mrs. Yvette Taylor, of my office, who in countless ways partici- pated in this project; To Mrs. Karren I. Villahermosa, who typed the entire manuscript and who suffered through innumerable revisions of the text. Errors and inaccuracies are, of course, my own responsibility. xiii i! !iI !~ Launching of the Ship Fame in 1~2, by George Ropes. This photograph may be repr~uced only with writ|en ~rmission of The E~x Institute. Courtesy of The Essex Institute~ Salem, MassachusetB. PREFACE In July 1787, Thomas Jefferson, then American Minister to France, expressed an interest in acquiring rice seed from Vietnam (or Cochin China, as it was commonly referred to at the time). This may constitute the first official American awareness of that distant foreign country. Writing to William Drayton of South Carolina, Jefferson noted, "Monsr. Poivre, a farmer general of the Isle of France, in travelling through several countries of Asia, observed with particular attention the objects of their agriculture, and he tells us that in Cochinchina they cultivate 6 several kinds of rice, which he describes, three of them requiring water, and three growing on high- lands. TM Later in the same letter, Jefferson--visionary as always-- resolved to import the best Vietnamese rice: The dry rice of Cochinchina has the reputation of being whitest to the eye, best flavored to the taste, and most pro- ductive.It seems then to unite the good qualities of both the others known to us. Could it supplant them, it would be a great happiness, as it would enable us to get rid of those ponds of stagnant water so fatal to human heahh and life. But such