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COLD OPEN This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report annex titled Ten Years of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy, Section Two: South and Southeast Asia. The document was originally issued on April ninth, nineteen sixty‑eight and is notable for its detailed review of Beijing’s strategic approach toward the region during the first decade of the Cultural Revolution. PROVENANCE The annex was released to the public in May two thousand seven under a Freedom of Information Act request, case number not disclosed. The declassification authority was the CIA’s Directorate of Intelligence, and the full text is available through the Black Vault archive at archive.org. THE DOCUMENT Date: May two thousand seven. Report number: RSS zero zero two six A sixty‑eight. Directorate of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency. This annex is a detailed review and analysis of Chinese Communist foreign policy in South and Southeast Asia. It provides the basic data upon which the shorter original intelligence report was based and is circulated for the benefit of those who desire to pursue the subject in depth. The publication is part of a series of studies of Chinese Communist foreign policy being produced by the Special Research Staff. Arthur Cohen is the analyst in charge, John Kerry King Chief, Special Research Staff. Contents include: A. Asian Countries Involved with Mao’s Anti‑Americanism – Cambodia, Indonesia, … B. Asian Countries Not Involved with Mao’s Anti‑Americanism – … C. An Anti‑Communist Quasi‑Ally: Pakistan… D. Non‑Communist Enemies – India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines… E. Imperialist Colonies – Macao and Hong Kong… Introduction: “Revolutionary and national interests always have been present in Mao Tse‑tung’s foreign policy as conflicting elements. His revolutionary compulsion, as well as his craving for adulation, has been detrimental to national interests, but he will not—or cannot—abandon this course. On occasion, however, he has partially suppressed it, the most important instance having been the period from nineteen fifty‑four to nineteen sixty‑five in relations with countries in the Far East.” The annex notes that as early as December nineteen thirty‑six, Mao believed his revolution should “exert a far‑reaching influence on the revolution in the East as well as in the whole world” (Strategic Problems of China’s Revolutionary War). It records that on sixteen November nineteen forty‑nine, Liu Shao‑chi insisted that Mao’s “road” of guerrilla war should be the model for all Communist‑led revolutions in “colonial and semi‑colonial” countries, with immediate concern for insurgencies in Southeast Asia. The document describes a shift beginning in nineteen fifty‑four, when Mao’s revolutionary compulsion was partially suppressed in favor of a strategy aimed at attracting non‑Communist leaders on the mainland’s periphery. It cites Chou En‑lai’s policy of assurance‑against‑subversion and the five principles of…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

CIA Cold Open This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Intelligence

◆ BLUF — The short version

COLD OPEN This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report annex titled Ten Years of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy, Section Two: South and Southeast Asia. The document was originally issued on April ninth, nineteen sixty‑eight and is notable for its detailed review of Beijing’s strategic approach toward the region during the first decade of the Cultural Revolution.

Date: AUG 8 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was CIA Cold Open This Is A Declassified Central Intelligence Agency Intelligence about?: COLD OPEN This is a declassified Central Intelligence Agency intelligence report annex titled Ten Years of Chinese Communist Foreign Policy, Section Two: South and Southeast Asia. The document was originally issued on April ninth, nineteen sixty‑eight and is notable for its detailed review of Beijing’s strategic approach toward the region during the first decade of the Cultural Revolution.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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