Nixon faces new Vietnam problem

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32659, 15 July 1971, Page 11

Nixon faces new Vietnam problem

(N.Z P. A.-Reuter—Copyright) SAN CLEMENTE, July 14. President Nixon today grappled with twin Vietnam problems posed by the Viet Cong’s diplomatic initiative in the war and a request by Mr David Bruce to be relieved as U.S. negotiator at the Paris peace talks.

News of Mr Bruce’s move was “leaked” in a radio report and then confirmed by the Western White House as the President was in the midst of a wide-ranging review of the seven-point peace plan presented by the Viet Cong two weeks ago.

Diplomatic observers believed that the “leak” of the secret request, apparently made when the J envoy was in Washington in May, had upset the Administration and was almost certain to complicate its response to the Communist proposals. Mr Nixon is expected to discuss the tuning of Mr Bruce’s departure when he confers today with Dr Henry Kissinger, his security affairs adviser, who arrived yesterday after a globe-circling tour. Dr Kissinger, who discussed the Viet Cong peace plan with President Nguyen Van Thieu, of South Vietnam, in Saigon, and with Mr Bruce in Paris, gave his firjt report to Mr Nixon and the Secretary of State (Mr William Rogers) a few hours after he reached the Western White House.

The White House spokesman appeared to indicate that Mr Nixon was anxious to keep Mr Bruce in Paris for as long as possible because of the delicate stage of the Paris negotiations and the long interruption which might result while a new American envoy mastered their complex problems. But diplomatic observers felt that the Communists

51 would regard Mr Bruce as a >;lame duck with no real mandate to negotiate seriously, ’land might force the Presi!;dent to replace him quickly. . Informed sources con- [ firmed that the President was considering the appointment 1 of Mr William Porter, United • States Ambassador in South > Korea, as his new negotiator, but they insisted that final decision had not been made. The Presidential Press Secretary, Mr Ronald Ziegler, ’ said that no decision had r been reached by the Presi--5 dent tq act on Mr Bruce’s j request to be relieved. , It was not clear whether Mr Ziegler was indicating ' that Mr Nixon was trying to J persuade Mr Bruce to change his mind or merely sought a ■ breathing spell after the un- : expected “leak.” i The 73-year-old Mr Bruce, , a veteran diplomat brought r out of retirement a year ago, I was reported to have been : advised by his doctor to step • down but to have decided to > stay on when the Viet Cong’s i peace plan took the United States by surprise. There were reports that the t Administration was disi pleased by his alleged failure ■ to establish a friendly rela- : tionship with the Com- ; munists at the peace talks, ! but the White House spokesi man said that he had pert formed “very well” and that I “Mr Nixon had no complaints.” ; Mr Ziegler said that Mr ; Bruce held the full confidence

of the President, would continue to have it, and would continue to work as. effectively in the coming months as he had in the past. The South Vietnamese Foreign Minister (Mr Trail Van Lam) said today that he believed a cease-fire , with combatants holding their present positions in IndoChina would lead to a prompt restoration of peace in the area. In a statement at the open? ing of the three-day Ministerial meeting of the Asian Pacific Council (Aspac), Mr Lam said that the level of hostilities in Indo-China had not fundamentally changed over the last year. “The search for peace therefore remains our constant and foremost preoccupation,” he said. “We firmly believe a ceasefire in place throughout Indp-China, with effective international supervision, should lead promptly to -file restoration of peace, by the gradual lowering of tensions and the creation of a better atmosphere for serious negotiations.” South Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Taiwan, and the Philippines are attending the meeting. Laos is represented as an observer. U Thant’s hopes The United Nations Secret-ary-General (U Thant) said yesterday that the prospects for a peaceful solution of the Vietnam war were "brighter now than at any time since the start of the Paris peace talks.” A United Nations spokesman who relayed U Thant’s view to reporters said that this was based on information the Secretary-General had received from “various quarters, including press reports.” He declined to elaborate, but U Thant is known to have a continuing channel to Hanoi through United Nations member States which maintain close contact with North Vietnam. The United States Ambassador (Mr George Bush) conferred with the Secretary-General on Monday, but a spokesman said that Vietnam was not discussed then.