TOWARDS PEACE IN INDOCHINA

Anthony Eden served as co-chairman with Molotov of the Conference held in Geneva in 1954 concerning the disposition of Indochina. He returns to the Agreement made there for reappraisal and for reconsideration. ""By tradition and I suspect, by inclination, if left to themselves, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam would prefer to be both independent and neutral,"" he says, but he also points out that Indochina has been and still is ""a cockpit for contending rulers and races."" He reviews the positions of the U.S., Hanoi and Peking in the conflict, assesses Moscow's possible role. ""The closer the warring factions can get to understanding what can not be won, the sooner will modest reason have a chance again."" While a critical question mark hovers over Chinese foreign policy, it must be recognized that America cannot lose the war, nor can it withdraw leaving a vacuum of power. The author looks to a dilution of the conflict and related military moves to fit into a scheme of ending the war; supports any project to raise the standard of life such as the UN's Mekong scheme. A delicate, deliberate probe that touches on many points of inflammation with the sureness of the accomplished professional diplomat. His advice on treatment should receive an attentive response.