1955: King of Cambodia Opts Not to Join South East Asia Treaty Organization

US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother, CIA Director Allen Dulles, each visit Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and attempt to persuade him to place Cambodia under the protection of the South East Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), an alliance formed the year before by representatives of Australia, France, Britain, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United States to prevent the spread of Communism in Southeast Asia. Sihanouk kindly declines the offer preferring to adopt a neutral stance in the conflict between his neighbors and the US. [Blum, 1995]