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The
Turning to economic aspects, certain countries such as the Philippines, Burma, Thailand and
Singapore had balance of payments difficulties. trend in Indonesia however was towards greater stability. Japan wish to expand her economic,
co-operation. The Unites States could not be
expected to increase their aid to South East Asia.
A consultative group had been formed with respect to the Philippines. Some European countries would participate and he hoped that the United Kingdom would
join in.
Sir Alec Douglas-Home
said that our analysis of
the situation in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Laos was.
similar. China had so far shown restraint. lle did
not believe that the North Vietnamese would want
Chinese dominance in peace-time. WhenChou En-lai was in North Vietnam in March he was very circumspect.
He was nevertheless not less hostile towards America
or disposed to make the American withdrawal easier.
China did not need to devote much effort to the
continuation of the war. We must hope that the
South Vietnamese would be able to hold their own. The Americans seemed surprisingly confident that they
would. The success of the Laos incursion was 50-50.
The Americans had recently suffered a reverse in
Cambodia. Nevertheless they had freed a considerable
Moreover even after their proposed withdrawal a significant force (184,000) would remain. The Air Force would probably not withdraw quickly.
area.
dak
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