The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 1970. Vietnam Withdrawal

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32382, 22 August 1970, Page 12

The Press SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 1970. Vietnam Withdrawal

The withdrawal of a company of New Zealand troops from South Vietnam next November, co-ordinated with a similar withdrawal by the Australians, is a logical way of reducing the Anzac force without weakening it to the extent of making it unduly vulnerable to attack. The withdrawal should be approved by all except the most extreme critics of New Zealand’s part in the war. Against the background of steady American troop withdrawals and the improved fighting capacity of the South Vietnamese Army, it suggests that by 1971 a significant change will have come over the war, with outside States, on the non-Communist side at least, playing an ever smaller part in the fighting. The Prime Minister’s statement that the Government is considering ways in which the New Zealand Army might help to train South Vietnamese represents an important change in this country’s commitment The war is far from over; the experience of the last six months suggests that the South Vietnamese are able increasingly to contain the smaller scale of Communist attacks. New Zealand troops, highly regarded as jungle fighters and for their ability to get along with Asian allies, should be more valuable as instructors than as combat soldiers in this phase of the war. From the 700-odd New Zealand servicemen in the area a group of up to 100 instructors might be formed as withdrawals proceed. At the same time, more seasoned troops will be available to meet this country’s obligations elsewhere, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore, where the New Zealand infantry battalion may now be built up almost to full strength.