SOVIET INTRUSIONS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31597, 7 February 1968, Page 13

SOVIET INTRUSIONS

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Copyright) WASHINGTON, Feb. 6. The United States State Department has now disclosed details of three incidents in which, it says, Soviet electronic intelligence ships intruded into American territorial waters and were ordered to leave, the “New York Times” News Service reports.

The Secretary of State (Mr Dean Rusk), publicly protesting against North Korea’s seizure of the American vessel U.S.S. Pueblo on January 23, on Sunday made a passing reference to the incidents, which occurred in 1965 and 1966. State Department officials said last night that in each case, the Soviet vessel had left American waters without any violence and the United States had lodged a diplomatic protest with Moscow. The Soviet reply in all three cases, State Department officials say, was that “the violation, if any, was innocent.” Mr Rusk said in a television appearance on Sunday: “We didn’t seize those vessels, we simply required them to de-

part. That is the civilised practice among nations in dealing with such questions because warships have a sovereign immunity attached to them.”

The Secretary of State added: “Under no theory of the case can the action taken by North Korea be justified.”

United States officials explained that Washington’s gentle handling of the Soviet’s electronic ships, which are rigged as fishing trawlers but have sensitive electronic listening devices aboard, gave the United States strong reasons to hope that Moscow would cooperate in helping arrange to have the Pueblo and its surviving crew of 82 officers and men released by Pyongyang. The three incidents disclosed last night by State Department officials were: In April, 1965, the Soviet trawler Barometer made a short penetration of United States territorial waters off Puerto Rico; In October, 1965, the vessel Arban entered American waters off San Pedro, California, remaining there for about 30 minutes; and in December, 1966, the Soviet vessel Teodolit also entered American waters off Puerto Rico. Informed sources say that both the intrusions off Puerto Rico were very brief, occurring while Russian ships were closely monitoring American naval exercises. In each case the United States Navy quickly sent a destroyer or frigate to accost the Russian vessel.