May 25, 1976
:CONGRESSIONAL RECORD NE
vide a base for continuing guerrilla warfare; we were the first Americans to see these tunnels in their depth. The tunnels are miles long (one we saw weaved in and out, and connected for 12 miles), and are ready to go with air systems, lighting, heating, sup- plies. Some even have schools and threatres to pursue the ideology of Mao. It is hard to imagine a well performed dance recital and acrobatic show on a full size stage in a theatre 60 feet underground-but we wit- nessed this scene with our own eyes.
China's children, many as young as 8 years, both boys and girls, are proficiently trained in the use of rifles and hand grenades. On - our visit to a school in Manchuria, a demon-” stration of this expertise was a skin tin- gling experience for it conjured up a mental image of a society of nearly 900,000,000 sharpshooters-but this image is no fantasy, it was real.
We were the first Americans to see the Red Army of China in action: (Heretofore," no Americans were permitted even to take a photo of a man in uniform.) These soldiers, incidentally, wear little identifications to differentiate them from the rest of the populace: They don the same drab Mao suits but with two red patches on the collar and a red star on the cap. No insignia is worn to denote rank
Otherwise we did not see guns in the hands of the people. The street police carried side- arms but there was no overt display of armed guards. Crime is not a factor in this con- trolled society: deviators or violators are simply not tolerated. The penalties are harsh, but first comes a severe dressing down by party officials and the threat of explusion” from the Party. A demotion from "comrade"-~ to "mister" is the ultimate disgrace de - Drug abuse does not exist in the PRC, say the Chinese for it, too, is not tolerated; the use of illegal narcotics is forbidden by the Red Book They told us that contrary to
reports we have seen indicating groups of Chinese (renegades perhaps) are trafficking
illegally near the Burmese border is consort with Burma's Communist regime, they have” knowledge of these actions. I do not believe this contention; my investigations into Far East drug traffic have convinced me "other- wise.
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creasingly' interdependent.world to better tion, has been made to MarAd for title XI place her aims in context with multi-national'
ship mortgage insurance. I also understand interest. MAAR ANOVA to that MarAd has issued preliminary commit-
· What does all this add up to? A culture, ments.
an ideology far different from ours and the"? I am concerned that the integrity of the ("twain" still prevails; East and West won't ̈ cltizenship requirements of U.S. law, which
meet for a long, long time.
must be met in order to secure title XI
1
China is prepared to go its own way. They insurance, be maintained. Neither Burmah are prepared to put ideological differences nor Burmast meets the applicable citizenship aside for the time being while they face what test, but my own analysis of the complex they consider is a mutual threat by the 80-``maze of corporate structures and agreements viets. “We have," they say, "parallel inter-* has led me to identify several factors indicat- ests." They want no military alliance "You" Ing that the key parties with real interests take care of your threat in the West, and and overall control over the U.S. participants we'll hold our own in the East." *500**are Burmah and Burmast.
- What does it come down to? Their interest · This conclusion, "of course, is drawn "on is to build our interest in the Russian threat. No further progress in joint relations can be achieved, they say, until "normalization occurs"-an exchange of ambassadors and the end of our relationship with Taiwan.***
There are some who say this should be done before Mao passes from the scene, be- fore the real "radicals" take over, Who knows what that would accomplish. Today Chiña is only prepared to say "normalization” will mean "progress in our relations."
·FINANCE OF SHIPS FOR TRANSPORT OF LNG
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentle man from Wisconsin (Mr. ASPIN) is recognized for 10 minutes.
Mr. ASPIN. Mr. Speaker, on March 3, I wrote to the Administrator of the Mari time Administration, Mr. Blackwell, con cerning MarAd's probable financing of five ships for the use and transport of liquefied natural gas LNG from Indonesia to Japan. I raised two ques tions concerning the deal. First I asked whether or not the beneficiaries of Mar- Ad's insurance program were truly US citizens. Second, I raised a series of ques tions concerning the true beneficial own ers of a subsidiary which will directly benefit from the building of these five tankers.
- I had been asked, before leaving Washing- Mr. Speaker, the response of the Mari-“ ton, to deliver a request by Sonny Mont- time Administration was totally unsatis- gomery, Chairman of the House Select Com-factory. As a result, I have written to mittee on MIA's, to the Cambodian Embassy Chairman JACK BROOKS of the Commit- seeking information on Americans still listed as "missing.” In Peking, I asked the US. lega=
tee on Government Operations and asked tion to accompany.me, but I was turned
him to review the problem. down for they said it would embarrass the Chinese,, Imagine, embarrassing the Chinese by requesting information on our own civilian and military people missing in Cam bodial I went to the Cambodian Embassy alone." -
So that Members of the House may be fully informed about the matter, I am. inserting in the RECORD a copy of my original March 3 letter on this subject, the Maritime Administration's reply, and my letter today to Chairman BROOKS.
The letters follow: ALTYA
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
March 3, 1976.
Mr. ROBERT J. BLACKWELL, Director, Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C.
DEAR MR. BLACKWELL. It is my under- standing that, in late 1973, Pertamina, the state-owned Indonesian oil company, agreed to sell to Japan large amounts of LNG over a twenty-year period. Burmast East Shipping
ד
the basis of incomplete access to facts, and in this connection I am writing to ask: What is your understanding of the contractual, ownership, and other arrangements, whether formal or informal, expressed or simply un-' derstood, that bear on the issues determin=" ing citizenship, particularly the issue of
The lion's share of the minority interest in Burmast" is reportedly subject to blind' options whose owners remain undisclosed. The shipping arrangements stake enormous amounts of money on a transaction involv- ing parties, for example, Burmah and Per tamina," with financial and other difficul- ties for them it is especially "acute that the deal go through. The approval of officials in foreign governments is required for the transaction. In short, the nature of the deal suggests that it is in a sense tailor-made to create opportunities for discreet advantage taking, and, especially given the presence of US. taxpayer assistance through MarAd, it is Important to insist that all the facts" be revealed.
In this connection, I would like to ask:
what is your understanding as to the owner
of Burmast? Also, what steps has MarAd
taken here, and what steps does it take as a matter of its usual' procedures (a) to as- sure that it gains a thorough understanding of where the financial and other benefits of its title XI program ultimately lodge in each case, and (b) to assure that the transaction or projects in which MarAd involves Itself are free of any taint or corruption beyond US. shores?
In so far as my questions pertain to the Indonesia-to-Japan transaction, “I would think it would be helpful to Congress t fulfilling its responsibilities if you provided us all the documents you have that bear on the question
Thank you very much for your cooperation in this matter...?
Sincerely,
LES ASPIN, Member of Congress.
US. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, 5 Washington, D.C., April 21, 1976. Hon. LES ASPINA House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.~~-~
DEAR MR. ASPIN: This is in response to your letter of March 3, 1976 regarding certain questions raised in conjunction with the proposed financing of the five vessels under construction at General Dynamics for use in the Indonesia to Japan Hiquefied natural gas project.
By way of background, the Maritime Ad-
They must have been notified of my in tention, for, when I arrived, the PLA guard offered no resistance to my cab going right into the Embassy compound. I rang the bell, there was no answer, I rang again, still no*” answer I tried the door, it was open I walked into a deserted room, shouted "hello, anyone here?", but no one answered I could hear voices coming from somewhere” in the building, but all the inside doors were locked. I placed the letter of inquiry on the Information desk in the reception room and left. My mission had been accomplished; I-Corporation, a majority-owned (about 65%) ministration received five applications for had hand delivered the message to the Cam- third-tier subsidiary of financially troubled-Title XI guarantees, the first four dated Au- bodian Embassy, but it left me with an eerie Burmah Oil Company Ltd. entered into.gust 8, 1973 and the fifth dated February 12, feeling. I even wondered if I would get out an agreement with Pertamina to transport 1974. Conditional commitments to guarantee in one piece.
the LNG. In order to fulfill a major share of this obligation, Burmah, through.complex corporate structures and agreements in- volving establishment of new companies under U.S. law, has arranged for the con- struction and financing of five LNG tankers to be built by General Dynamics Corporation. As a key part of the financing of these vessels, costing a half billion dollars, applica-
The Cambodian government has yet to answer one request for information on the MIA's. Is it too much to ask these people about the fate of our people? The war is over!
That China is unique, again is without question. I undertook the trip to investigate and assess the role China plays in our in-
obligations (Commitments) were issued No- vember 7, 1973 for the first four vessels and May 21, 1974 for the fifth vessel. In accord- “
with your request we have enclosed copies of those Commitments.
ance
The applications for Title XI guarantees were made by Cherokee I, II, III, IV and V Shipping Corps, which are incorporated in the State of Delaware. Energy Transportation
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