diplomacy had proved more effective than military alliance. The
problem of the presence of Chinese Nationalist troops in Shan state
had at last been resolved by taking the matter to the United Nations.
The United States and Taiwan agreed to evacuate these forces, though
in the end only about half (some 6000) actually left for Taiwan. The
rest settled in the Burma–Thailand border area, where they turned to
drug running.
Indonesia, too, refused to join SEATO. After three years of low-
key relations, Jakarta dispatched its first ambassador to Beijing in
October 1953, and began to promote trade. Indonesia was important
for China as a principal member of the non-aligned group of nations,
especially when, in April 1955, President Sukarno hosted the Bandung
Asian–African Conference. The venue provided an opportunity for
China to make friends and influence regional neighbours. Despite con-
tinuing support for revolutionary movements on a party-to-party basis,
Beijing was eager to establish friendly state-to-state relations with
neutral countries. The foundation for such relations were the ‘Five
Principles of Peaceful Coexistence’ agreed upon the year before
between Zhou Enlai and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India.
These were: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity,
non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs of other countries,
equality of status, and mutual benefit.
For Indonesia, the Bandung conference marked a partial break-
through on the vexed problem of the overseas Chinese. China agreed
to a treaty that went some way towards eliminating dual national-
ity for Indonesian Chinese. Those who could claim dual nationality
would be given the choice of either Indonesian or Chinese citizen-
ship. Anyone not making an active choice would revert to Chinese
nationality, and lose their Indonesian citizenship. Even so, tension
continued over Indonesian anti-Chinese discrimination, particu-
larly a 1959 ban by Jakarta on retail trade by aliens in rural areas
that was directed mainly against Chinese. Attempts by Beijing to
intervene on behalf of Chinese nationals were counterproductive,
Communism and the Cold War