Burma, for instance, had nationalized the industries, the markets there, not the homes-I do not think they had the land either. Cambodia had steadfastly refused to go Communist, so they advised us, and I think they were telling the truth. They said they had resources enough so that they would not yield to China in that respect although it is obvious that they were scared of China. I doubt if we can look for much more help from other countries with the possible exception of another division from South Korea. COUNTRIES VISITED Senator LAUSCHE. George, if you do not mind, if there were placed in the record the 15 countries that you visited. Senator AIKEN. Yes. We started Senator LAUSCHE. You do not have to identify them. The staff men can get them into the record. Senator AIKEN. We might just as well identify them. We started in Paris where Senator Mansfield visited with President [Charles] De Gaulle alone, the rest of us had to be content with Couve de Murville 2 and others. Senator MANSFIELD. I got stuck. [Laughter.] Senator AIKEN. Then we went to Poland and talked with Foreign Minister [Adam] Rapacki, President [Wladyslaw] Gomulka was out of the country. We had several hours with the Polish people. I am not sure that they are happy under Russian domination. In fact I am pretty sure they are not, but that is a personal opinion. That is not what they said. We went to Moscow and had two or three hours each with Gromyko, Kosygin,3 and with the Foreign Relations Committee of the Soviet of Nationalities. From there down to Bucharest. Bucharest was very much concerned with improving trade relations with the West. They realized that probably the West would give them a better deal than the East. From there to the Arabian Desert. The most important thing we did there was to bring four inches of rain out of season for them. And then down to Aden, where the British are fair game for any sniper that wants to take a shot at them. Britain is due to leave that country or give it its independence of a sort in a few months' time now. AID PROGRAM IN YEMEN Then we took small planes and went up to Yemen, where the head of the government was out of the country. He is up in Egypt, I believe for his health, and that was interesting, let us put it that way. Then we go back to Aden, where the British Senator MANSFIELD. The best aid program we saw was in the Yemen. Senator AIKEN. Yes. We have built a water system and we did not have time to go over the whole country. We had to get out of there before 1:30 in the afternoon because the wind gets so rough that you could not leave after that time. In Aden we learned that the French in Djibouti have taken a good deal of the Suez Canal business already away from Aden. French Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. 'Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko and Premier Aleksei Kosygin. There was a lot of uncertainty there as to what would become of the South Arabian people and their country this next spring when they are due to be independent from something or other. COMPENSATION FOR U.S. OIL COMPANIES Then we went down to Ceylon. Ceylon is where the Hickenlooper amendment had been felt due to the confiscation of the oil companies. While we were there, the Senate told us that they had already approved compensation for the oil companies whose property had been expropriated. They thought the House might take the full 11 months which is permitted them before concurring in the resolution. As a matter of fact, I read in the papers, Mike, when you got to Rangoon, they concurred the next day after we left, so I suppose we did that much good on the trip anyway. The oil companies should get their money now. BURMA FEARFUL OF BEING DRAWN INTO THE WAR In Rangoon, as I say, we found people that did not smile much. General Ne Win seems to be in complete control of that country. They are very fearful they would be drawn into the war one way or the other, but they were extremely hospitable to us. I want to say now that Senator Mansfield is highly respected all around the world. In one country, Cambodia, they referred to him as the Man of Great Justice. Senator LAUSCHE. Is Rangoon in Burma? Senator AIKEN. Yes. And Kipling was all wet with his Road to Mandalay. China is not across the bay and nowhere near across the bay, and in some other ways he was in error. Senator HICKENLOOPER. Maybe he was referring to Indo-China. Senator AIKEN. I guess so. No, because he had the Mulmein Pagoda and the Road to Mandalay does not go near the Mulmein Pagoda although they have the largest pagoda in the world there, and there is probably as much gold on that pagoda as there is in Fort Knox even though the country is broke. Senator HICKENLOOPER. You mean in Burma. Senator AIKEN. Rangoon. Senator HICKENLOOPER. They tell me I saw them put some gold up there one time-they tell me they put gold sheets up there and before the week is over, the gold comes down and it disappears some place and it is a painted gilt. Senator AIKEN. That is practical. Maybe we ought to do that more. LAOS, CAMBODIA AND THAILAND From there we go down to Bangkok, where we leave the plane and go up to Laos, Vientianne, Luangprabang, and call on the king. Laos is a small country. They are very fearful of China, very fearful of the North Vietnamese, and the Pathet Lao, but claim that they were in better shape than they were the year before. We have at least provided a diversion for their enemies down in South Vietnam. From Laos we went back to Bangkok, and then we went down to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, where, as I say, we perhaps received the most cordial and elaborate welcome of any country we visited. That is a country which has no relationship with the United States. I think perhaps the trouble goes back to the time when the head of the government there was ridiculed by a prominent American. I do not know about that. But at least it was estimated 30,000 to 50,000 people turned out. If they were not glad to see us, they were the best actors in the world. That is all I can say. Then we go to Bangkok where we are told to be very careful and not report anything about our use of the airfields there and, as I say, the New York Times came out within three or four days with a map showing location of the airports, the length of the runways, the use that was being made of it, and the prospects of building new airports. That is what makes me completely disgusted with these pledges of secrecy which we are supposed to take. CAMBODIAN CONCERNS OVER CHINESE EXPANSIONS Senator LAUSCHE. George, may I ask you about Cambodia? Cambodia says it will not take our aid. It has made statements indicating hostility to the United States. But you still are of the opinion from what was said to you that they are afraid of the Communist Chinese expansion? Senator AIKEN. I think so. I think so. And Cambodia to all appearances is making more progress than some of the other countries over there. I believe they have about the smallest armed forces. They felt very badly about charges that their land was being used by this one or that one. They were very anxious to have The International Control Commission do better work than it had been doing in protecting their boundaries and also in assuring the world that they are not being used as a haven. However, I do think that probably at least two, and maybe more countries, do sneak over the boundaries once in a while, but that is something that they are apparently powerless to prevent. The next stop, of course, was Saigon, and from there we went to Hong Kong, getting as good a report as we could on the situation in mainland China. The reports on their strength, which is formidable. Down to the Philippines, where we were urged to encourage the Philippines to send more troops to Vietnam. I think the new President may recommend greater aid, but he has two houses of Congress which will have to pass on it, also. JAPANESE HORROR OF WAR The last stop was in Japan, and American air bases apparently all over Japan. The Japanese were concerned over the Okinawa agreement that expires some time in the next few years, I believe, and also the Ryukyu Islands to the north. The extent of the Americanization in Japan was very remarkable. Signs over the stores, or the manufacturing plants, over everything, in English as well as Japanese and sometimes in English alone. The Japanese Government strongly supports us in whatever we are undertaking to do, but they allowed that was possibly not true, probably not true, of the Japanese people who have a horror of war and particularly of the possibility of an atomic war. I gathered that they were not going to give material help to us, and they weren't about to jeopardize the next election on our account, either. So I don't think we can expect too much from them other than what we are already getting. Japan had experience. They went into Manchuria years ago, and got bogged down. And the only thing that saved Japan from being poverty stricken, bogged down more than she got was the fact she got into a big war and got thrown completely out of China and then she started to make progress. It is a remarkable growth that Japan has been enjoying more so than any country in the world. That would be my guess. That they have shown the greatest gain in economics than any country. Senator HICKENLOOPER. Unless it would be Formosa. Senator LAUSCHE. And Israel. Senator AIKEN. I think Formosa also has. I want to say one other thing. CHINESE PROPAGANDA Chinese propaganda covers South Asia like a blanket. Their radio programs all the time are telling lies. They don't tell the truth, they manufacture propaganda stories, and I am surprised that so many American news agencies carry dispatches from the Chinese press bureau or whatever it is called as if they were factual, when we know that they manufactured them because we heard them manufactured while we were there. Apparently they are undertaking not only to influence the people of the Southeast Asian countries and particularly Cambodia, but they spread those yarns all over the world, too, and it is, I don't know how you combat that. I suppose the President's peace offensive was intended to counteract the Chinese propaganda to a certain extent. How effective it would be remains to be seen. But China is certainly, the Chinese government is certainly, masters of deceit. I don't think I have anything more. [Applause] Mike will answer any question. The chairman of this mission will answer any questions you might have. Senator MANSFIELD. That is a good job. The CHAIRMAN. Mike, what do you want to say to supplement that? Senator MANSFIELD. I can say a little bit, but I can't say it as well as George, or as succinctly. It will be short. All I want to say is that having a man like George Aiken along was like having a foundation to which the committee could align itself. DE GAULLE SEES NO PROSPECT OF NEGOTIATIONS But in brief, we went to Paris. De Gaulle sees no prospect, at that time, of negotiations on Vietnam. At some point, however, de Gaulle could still be helpful. De Gaulle is not antagonistic to the United States. Rather, he wants to lead in organizing Europe on a different basis than present. France is afraid of Germany and the MLF, as is Poland, the Soviet Union and other European countries. 4 Multilateral force-a land-based NATO nuclear force. De Gaulle would like to meet with the President, and I note since the return that there are some indications that might be accomplished. POLAND WANTS PEACE IN VIETNAM In Warsaw, there is a large reserve, a large reservoir of personal goodwill for the United States. Almost all Poles seem to have relatives somewhere in America. Poland wants peace in Vietnam very badly for its own national reasons and might be willing to help bring it about if the Soviet Union were willing. Senator GORE. What are their national reasons? Senator MANSFIELD. They want their-they are afraid that the Vietnamese war might spread into Europe if it expands too far. That they will be hurt. They want to develop a trade with the West and they think this is holding it back because the same applies to Russia, they think this is like a cloud hanging over possible better Polish-American relations. We met with both Foreign Minister Rapacki, as indicated, and also with him at all times was former Ambassador [Jozef] Winiewicz, who used to be in this country, and who is the Deputy Foreign Secretary now. The Poles are deeply concerned over the Oder-Neisse border uncertainty and the possibility of MLF as it relates to Germany and nuclear weapons. The Poles are very interested, very much interested, in trade with the West. NO HELP FROM THE RUSSIANS In Moscow, according to these notes I have, there will be no help from Russia in getting negotiations started on Vietnam at that time. The Russians blame us entirely for the situation and in any event are not necessarily too unhappy about it. Maybe they have changed. The freeze in United States-Soviet relations seems to have set in again although the Russians generalize about peace just as we do and profess to want better relations. They were irritated by the publication of the Penkovsky papers, by congressional nationality resolutions those are sense resolutions. By U.S. port restrictions and boycotts; by our step-up of the military budgets, and they were under the impression that they had reached informal agreement that neither country would step up military budgets; and by a stepup of military budgets, especially without notifying them, after they thought they had an understanding with the presidents of both countries with reducing budgets. Our embassy personnel in Moscow are generally so schooled in Cold War tactics they appear even determined to prove the American ballet is superior to the Russians. If a detente is really desired in United States-Soviet attitude the embassy people in Moscow are going to have to be thoroughly reoriented. The Ambassador was not there. The Russians are not pushing for a detente. As a matter of fact, they seem to be headed in the other direction. It may be partly possible because of the bombing of North Vietnam while Kosygin was in Hanoi. He still remembers it. But in view of Vietnam they may not prefer to press for a detente at this time. |