SHIFT IN ASIAN POLICY BY U.S. WOULD SIGNAL LOSS, NIXON SAYS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00149R000200920109-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: November 11, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 5, 1999
• Sequence Number: 109
• Publication Date: May 28, 1964
• Content Type: NSPR

siS?Bittiizised - Approved For Release : CIA-RDP7
MAY 2 8 1964
POS
STAT I NTL
SHIFT IN ASIAN,
POLICY BY U.S.
WOULD SIGNAL
LOSS, NIXON SAYS
Fulbright and For-
eign Leaders on Pro-
gram With Former
Vice President
. NEW YORK, May 28 (AP)?
Former Vice President Richard
M. Nixon said last night that any
. shift of United States policy in
Asia would be a "signal to the
people in those areas that Ameri-
ca was going to back down in its
resistance and Communist China
Is, going to win."
,.He gave that view in a one-
hour discussion program, "Town
Meeting of .the World" Over the
Celtunbia Broadcasting System.
The program was beamed across
!:the Atlantic via the Telstar II
communications satellite.
Nixon strongly opposed admit-
ting Communist , China to the
.United Nations. He rejected a
;'French proposal for neutralize-
?.'tion Of southeast Asia and sug-
?,?gested that the war in Viet Nam
"cannot be Won at the present
time until the rules of .the war
? are ohanged."
He said CommUnist supply
lines must be cut off and an end
to "privileged sanctuaries" such
As North Viet Nam 'and Cam-
bodia. 'He'said the United States
Objective, should be to "free..
? North Viet Nam and then maybe
? in negotiations' we eould come
..Otit with a free SeuthViet Nam.'
Other Participants
. Other participants on the:
broadcast were Senator J. Wil-
liam Fulbright (Dent), Ar-'
kansas, speaking from Wash-
ington; Harold Wilson, head of ;
the British Labor Party, speak-
ing from. London, and Maurice.
Schumann, chairman of the For-
eign Affairs Committee of the
French National Assembly. Eric
Sevareld was the moderator.
On ,most issues, Nixon stood
alone. He said at One point: "I
often pm in the position of be-
ing in a minority, but: I believe
I state a majority view .shared
by the American people at the
present time."
'Wilson said Nixon was en-
gaged in dangerous talk in dis-
cussing the possibility of extend-
ing the war in Southeast Asia.
He suggested ,a 14-nation confer.
fence, and Schumann interrupted
to say: "that is just what France
has proposed."
. The discussion started off on
,the Senate speech two months
ago by Fulbright, chairman of
the Foreign Relations Commit-
tee, on the danger of clinging
'old myths in an a,ge..of. new re-
? Speech Comment
,
Nixon, Wilson and Schumann
.agreed the speech had great im-
pact throughout the world. The
former Vice President said Pres-
ident Lyndon B. Johnson should
have repudiated Fulbright's
t,views because "they are devas-
tating to our foreign policy in
Southeast Asia and throughout
the Far East."
t Wilson said he welcomed the
-speech because It "may help us
:Iget rid of our rigidities on West?
ern policy." ' '
'LFulbright said he did not pro.,
pose tha
recognize Communist China at
this time, but hoped that rela-
tions could become normal.
Schumann defended ,France's
position of seeking neutralization
of Southeast Asia. He said there.
is no military solution and with-
out a guaranteed neutrality, it
would be 'difficult to stop Com-
munist expansion.
"There would be a disaster If
.we accepted. neutrality." Nixon
said. '
. Questions on De Gaulle
Fulbright questioned'Schu-
mann on De Gaulle's relations
with the Atlantic Alliance. He
.particularly brought up French
withdrawal of top officers from
'NATO.
"We in France think that the
'Atlantic ? Alliance must remain,
but not what it is now," Schu-
mann said. He said thaf the Alli-
ance runs out in 1969, and his
nation thinks it is ;silly to 'wait
until then before rebuilding it.
"You can't rebuild the Alliance
if .people are. pulling the, bricks
Out all'the time," Wilson said.
: Nixon said there is a. time for
a : re-evaluation ? of the. whole.
grand alliance. "You cannot get
effective policy'. on Cuba, Viet
Nam, Malasia" without better.
co-ordination; he. said.
STATINTL
Sanitized '-Approved For Release : CIA-RDP75-00149R000200920109-2