§ Mr. Warbeyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether Her Majesty's Government recognise the new authorities in Saigon as the government of Vietnam south of the 17th parallel, or of the whole of Vietnam.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerHer Majesty's Government do not recognise the existence of two separate states in Vietnam, which would in any case be inconsistent with the Geneva Agreements of 1954. The present Government of the Republic of Vietnam is the only one which Her Majesty's Government recognise in that country. They are the successors of the regime of the former Emperor Bao Dai, whose Government was recognised by Her Majesty's Government in 1950, although Ho Chi Minh's Communist organisation claimed to control, even at that time, a section of Vietnamese territory.
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§ Mr. Warbeyasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, as co-chairman of the Geneva Conference, he has received an undertaking from the new political authorities in Saigon that they will respect and carry out the provisions of the Geneva Agreements, 1954.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerThe Provisional Government has publicly declared that it will uphold treaties and agreements signed by Vietnam.