0 wing to the closed nature of the political system operating in Vietnam, decision-makers, scholars and businessmen who study or deal with Vietnam and its leaders have labored under gross misconceptions, often bordering on ignorance, about the workings of the system, the mindset of Hanoi's leaders, the state of its economy, the character of its society and the nature of its links with ils Soviet patrons. Conditions in Vietnam's client states, Laos and Cambodia, are even more grossly misunderstood.

The first report on Indochina to be published in Asia, Indochina Report filhs the gap in the outside world's knowledge of the arcane world of Indochinese politics. Each issue of this quarterly publication looks behind signal developments in one of the three countries to discem key trends, explain events and assess their implications for the rest of Southeast Asia. It is hoped that the insights that Indochina Report presents will contribute in a small way to the efforts of building equilibrium and peace in Southeast Asia. Contributors to Indochina Report are specialists on Indochina who are largely based in the region and who have had extensive firsthand experience and knowledge of the three Indochinese countries. Occasionally, respected en-tigres write invaluable "insider" accounts of the processes at work in these societies. Launched in 1984, Indochina Report is now read by, among others, govemment leaders, senior foreign policy analysts, diplomats, academics, journalists, students of Indochinese affairs, and even policy-makers in Hanoi.
Editorial Advisory Board for Indochina Report and Vietnam Connnentary:
Jacqueline Desbarats
niversity of California, Berkeley, USA

Dougias Pike
Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, USA

Stephen Marris
Harvard University, Boston; Naval War College, Rhode Island, USA
Bui Xuan Quais
Universite de Paris - Nanterre, France
Lan: Tlmnh Lien,
Laboratoire "Analyse de l'Espace", CNRS, Paris, France
Zakaria 1-1aji Alunad
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Ton Tlrat Thien
Universite du Quebec, Trois Rivieres, Canada
Olivier Todd Paris, France
Tertio Tonooki
Strategic Institute for Southeast Asia, Tokyo, Japan

Alvin Bernstein
Naval War College, Rhode Island, USA

Kltien Theeravit
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
Chou Norindr Paris, France
Sponsoring Institutions:
lnstituteof Asian Studies
Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Institute de Politique Internationale et Europeene - GRESASE, Universite de Paris - Nanterre France
Strategic Institute for Southeast Asia Tokyo, Japan

Information & Resource Center Singapore
Publisher/Editoe MRajaretnarn
Please address all subscription enquiries to:
Europe	Thailand
Asia I'acific Information Centre P O Box 270 1211 Geneva 21 Switzerland
VD Books
106/1 Sukhumvit 53 Bangkok 10110 Thailand
Tel: 66-2-2590035 Fax: 66-2-2592376
Telex: 21172 TEA MD TH
Singapore/Rest of the world

!rr firnnation & Resource Center
No. 6 Nassim Road Singapore 1025 Tel: 65-7349600 Fax: 65-7336217
 
lndochirra Report is owned and published on a quarterly basis by the Information & Resource Center Pte-Ltd, which also publishes Vietnarrr Conrnrerrfary and Manila Report. Editorial Office: Information & Resource Center Pte Ltd, 6 Nassim Road, Singapore 1025. Printed by Hong Fatt Press, Singapore. Reproduction of Indochina Report or any part thereof without the publisher's permission is strictly forbidden. Quotation with attribution is encouraged.