Towards the end of March, d’Argenlieu suggested that a meeting should be held between him and President Ho Chi Minh to discuss the relations between the two countries. He proposed that the meeting be held aboard a French cruiser, in Halong Bay.
Some weeks earlier, the newspaper Cuu Quoc (National Salvation) had carried a commentary strongly criticizing d’Argenlieu’s colonialist attitude. The French High Commissioner’s position had been very clearly revealed. So what question did he really want to solve? Why did he choose to hold his meeting on board a cruiser anchored offshore, and not Hanoi or Saigon? Given d’Argenlieu’s record since his arrival in Indochina, especially since March 6, Uncle Ho and his comrades-in-arms had to study the offer very seriously. Anyhow the Preliminary Agreement had just been ratified by the French Government. The news of the signing of the Agreement had had echoes throughout the world. Many foreign newspapers considered it as a good way of solving the hostilities then existing between colonies and colonial powers. What was most important was that in such a meeting the tens of millions of our people in both North and South Viet Nam would certainly back our government’s position. Uncle Ho also desired to meet with the French High Commissioner in order to press for the immediate holding of official negotiations in Paris, where the French reactionary elements in Indochina would find it difficult to conceal the truth about the talks from the public. So Uncle Ho decided to accept the Admiral’s invitation.
On the morning of March 24, Uncle Ho, wearing his broad-brimmed hat and carrying his stick, got into his car. He was accompanied by Hoang Minh Giam and Nguyen Tuong Tam. At Gia Lam airport they were met by Sainteny and boarded a French sea-plane.
About 10 a.m. the plane reached Ha Long Bay. The Catalina alighted on the sea. The High Commissioner and Leclerc had been waiting aboard the cruiser Emile Bertin.
The welcoming ceremony took place in a solemn atmosphere.
A salute was fired from the guns. Host and guest shook hands. Introductions were made in turn by d’Argenlieu and Uncle Ho. The cruiser set sail towards the open sea. A cocktail party was held aboard the cruiser. Raising his glass, the Admiral said:
“This is the first meeting held to strengthen the friendly relations between France and the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam. May I propose a toast to the health of the President and to the prosperity of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam”.
D’Argenlieu stressed the fact that this was the first meeting. He wanted to imply that it was he who represented France in Indochina, and not Leclerc, who had met President Ho in Hanoi.
Uncle Ho was straightforward in his reply to the Admiral. He said:
“The present meeting is the result of the March 6, 1946 Agreement. So far as the Vietnamese government is concerned, it has strictly implemented the Preliminary Agreement. And we also request a sincere response from the French side, so as to help bring about friendship between Viet Nam and France.”
President Ho was invited by d’Argenlieu to review the fleet. The warship steamed past a line of ships carrying big guns, their barrels pointing to the sky. Then she cast anchor. The strap of his hat pulled down, leaning on his bamboo stick, President Ho, with d’Argenlieu by his side, reviewed the French fleet. As the ships went past the French Navy seamen shouted hurrahs to welcome the President of the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam.
As regards this meeting, some people say that d’Argenlieu was forced to meet President Ho under pressure from Leclerc, who had been instructed by the French government to open preparatory talks in Viet Nam before conducting official negotiations. Others consider it as part of the High Commissioner’s delaying tactics. It was d’Argenlieu himself who suggested that a preparatory conference be held in Dalat. D’Argenlieu feared that the unstable political situation existing at that time in France would lead to too many concessions to the Viet Minh. He still entertained the hope that de Gaulle would soon return to power. And for the moment he had not yet succeeded in building up his puppets for the autonomous State of Cochinchina. Moreover he was taking advantage of the welcome ceremony to President Ho to bring up his fleet as a show of force.
After the review, President Ho and the French High Commissioner settled down immediately to an exchange of views.
Uncle Ho wanted the negotiations to open immediately in Paris, d’Argenlieu on the other hand did not want an early conference, nor did he want it to be held in Paris. He said that as the French government had not been fully informed of the situation, a preparatory conference would be necessary. He suggested Dalat as the venue of these preparatory talks, for, in his opinion, Dalat would become the capital of the Federation of Indochina. Uncle Ho saw the Commissioner’s scheme of deferring the official negotiations clearly. He said he did not see the need for holding preparatory talks. D’Argenlieu stuck to his guns: as long as the French government was not fully aware of all the problems in Indochina there could not be any official negotiations.
There was also a long debate on the seat and date of the official talks. Uncle Ho insisted on Paris. His suggestion was supported by Leclerc and Sainteny on the ground that to hold it in Paris, the capital of France, would prevent the conference from being troubled by extremist elements (i.e. the Viet Nam Nationalist Party). Finally d’Argenlieu had to accept the proposal. The date of the departure of the Vietnamese delegation for France to hold official negotiations was fixed for the last quarter of May. Uncle Ho also agreed to the holding of preparatory talks in Dalat. But he made it a condition that the French delegates attending the preparatory talks should be sent by the French government from France. It was also agreed that, by the middle of April, at the same time as the French delegation left the country for Viet Nam to attend the preparatory talks, a Vietnamese parliamentary delegation would pay a good will visit to the French National Assembly and the French people.
Salan later related that the meeting at Ha Long Bay led to an irreconcilable rupture between the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Corps and the French High Commissioner.
That afternoon as he was watching the sky and sea on the aft deck Salan was summoned by the admiral. D’Argenlieu, pale-faced and trembling with anger, was in his cabin. He told Salan: “General Leclerc has acted impolitely towards me. I would like to request you to bring him to reason. During the few weeks he has been talking to Mr. Ho Chi Minh to his heart’s content. It is my turn now, that’s obvious. I don’t want to chase after a Munich conference in Indochina, going from one concession to another. If I accept Paris, Mr. Ho will start making new demands”.
Salan looked for Leclerc and told him, what had happened. That very afternoon Leclerc left for Saigon.
On the plane back to Hanoi, President Ho told Salan: “If the Admiral was intending to use his ships to intimidate me, he made a big mistake. Those ships cannot go upstream on our rivers”.