ABSTRACT
John F. Kennedy’s military adviser, General Maxwell Taylor, and Rostow, who he had appointed as Deputy National Security Adviser, visited the country and produced a joint report that called for an increase in American military aid, military advisers and soldiers, although Kennedy was not in favour of sending in troops. In a paper circulated in June 1962 by George C. McGhee, Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs, entitled ‘Regionalism in the Far East’, there were calls for an Asian-only regional organisation. The paper explained that externally there had been a considerable amount of multilateral activity in the region, which could be regarded as a precursor to the emergence of some form of regionalism. On a more specific line, the Special Studies Group in the Bureau of intelligence and Research at the State Department produced a research memorandum on regionalism and security in mainland Southeast Asia, which was defined as to include Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and South Vietnam.
