THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 4 MAY 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007948
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: May 4, 1974

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2016/07/19 : CIA-RDP79T00936A012100010005-7
The President's Daily Brief
May 4, 1974
4
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I )(2)A3)
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
rip C
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
May 4, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The Khmer Communists continue to put heavy pressure
on the government base at Lovek, the last significant
government position northwest of Phnom Penh. (Page 1)
Laotian Prime Minister Souvanna and the Communists
are still sparring over the roles and relative power
of the components of the new coalition government.
(Page 2)
Soviet-Indian relations are again on the downswing.
(Page 3)
Canada is becoming a significant exporter of nuclear
power reactors. (Page 4)
The new junta in Portugal has come through its first
week in power without any serious challenge to its
authority. (Page 5)
Notes on
French
a Soviet snip visit to Cuba, and
the situation in Ethiopia are on Page 6.
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CAMBODIA: Phnom Penh Area
Road cut
Sala Lek Pra
Abandoned-26 April
Heavy Communist
pressure
Lost 18 March
Oudong
Road and
river cut
/ MEKONG
PH N70,
PEN
4
0
tight communist
presse
Prey Veng,-,-
555800 5-74 CIA
0 5
Miles
Neak
Luong
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CAMBODIA
The Khmer Communists are maintaining heavy pres-
sure on the government base at Lovek, the last sig-
nificant government position northwest of Phnom Penh.
The Lovek complex is being hit by intense mortar
?and artillery barrages, and ground pressure is becom-
ing heavier at several points. Government defenders
yesterday abandoned a number of outposts on the west-
ern edge of the complex. The Cambodian Air Force has
committed most of its available tactical aircraft in
an effort to stem the Communist assaults.
The loss of Lovek would be
ernment troop strength at Lovek
refugees from other places have
civilians there to over 40,000.
water are running short.
a major defeat. Gov-
is about 5,000, and
raised the number of
Supplies of food and
East of Phnom Penh, the provincial capital of
Prey Veng is the target of sporadic Communist artil-
lery fire and ground probes, but the insurgents have
not followed up the attacks they launched earlier this
week. The Communists are apparently preparing for a
prolonged siege at Prey Veng.
?
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LAOS
Prime Minister Souvanna Phouma and the Lao Com-
munists continue to spar over the roles and relative
power of components of the new coalition government.
Souvanna has just given in to demands of the Commu-
nists that the National Assembly not reconvene, a
move that will cost him politically with the rightists.
The Communists refuse to recognize this body because
it was elected by Souvanna's previous government.
They are determined that the new advisory political
council, whose leadership is weighted in their favor,
should discharge the assembly's legislative functions.
Souvanna, on the other hand, apparently hopes to
persuade the King to assume the assembly's legislative
role. A government spokesman stated yesterday that,
under the constitution, the budget, foreign treaties,
and other important documents would be sent to the
King for review. The King would then issue royal de-
crees from which the government would draw its author-
ity. This formula will probably be unacceptable to
the Communists.
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USSR-INDIA
The warmth in Soviet-Indian relations generated
by Brezhnev's visit to India last November has dis-
sipated, and the two countries are complaining about
each other again.
New Delhi claims that Moscow's response to In-
dia's economic difficulties has been poor. Only one
new economic agreement advantageous to India--a
contract for kerosene and diesel fuel--has been
signed since Brezhnev's visit. Moreover, the Soviets
are charging India the current high market price
for badly needed fertilizer and are ignoring Indian
requests for food grains and additional energy re-
lief.
The Soviets in turn do not want to be made the
goat for Indian economic troubles. For example, a
Soviet official in New Delhi recently called a press
conference to criticize the Indians' performance in
meeting their commitments for the Bhilai and Bokaro
steel plants, two of the Soviet Union's largest aid
ventures in India. Neither is proceeding as planned,
and part of the fault does in fact rest with New
Delhi.
Beyond the economic sphere, however, the Soviets
presumably are also concerned about improved US-
Indian relations, Mrs. Gandhi's domestic moves to
the right, and New Delhi's interest in decreasing
India's dependence on the USSR for military assist-
ance. The Indians, on their side, are apparently
displeased over the USSR's persistent requests for
special military privileges in India and over Mos-
cow's failure to respond to New Delhi's call for
restraint in naval competition in the Indian Ocean.
The Soviet-Indian relationship has never been
a smooth one, and problems of this kind are not un-
usual. Present difficulties could become more seri-
ous, however, should India continue to move closer
to the US or should it make a real effort to improve
relations with the Chinese.
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CANADA
Canada is becoming a significant exporter of nu-
clear power reactors. It has sold two of its CANDU
nuclear reactors to India, one to Argentina, and one
to Pakistan. A second one will probably be sold to
Argentina. South Korea has signed a letter of intent
to purchase the reactor With an option to buy a Sec-
ond. Romania, Denmark, Iran, Taiwan, and the UK have
also indicated an interest in the system.
The CANDU reactor differs from those of ,US de-
sign in using natural rather than enriched uranium
as fuel, and in employing "heavy" rather than "light"
or ordinary water. The capital cost of a:CANDU
re-
actor is slightly higher than a similar sized light
water reactor, but over its lifetime the reduced cost
of using natural uranium is expected to Make up this
difference. The CANDU reactors will be even more
competitive as the price of enriched uranium increases.
A major problem at this time is the shortage of heavy
water for these reactors.
The CANDU system proved itself in 1973 with the
performance of Canada's Pickering nuclear station.
The four reactors at this plant, each with a capacity
of 540 megawatts of electricity, operated at about 85
percent of their possible capacity, producing a total
of 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. The main
reason for this high productivity is that the CANDU
system can be refueled while still producing electric-
ity. US reactors must be shut down during this opera-
tion.
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PORTUGAL
There has been no serious challenge to the junta's
authority after one week in power. In the coming
weeks, however, it will have to produce an African
policy acceptable to a wide political spectrum and
face the anticipated increasing demands of the left-
ists.
Although Spinola favors self-determination for
the overseas territories, he has called for a program
of "preparation." This measured approach could well
bring a clash with the leftists, who say they want a
cease-fire and immediate independence. Spinola has
also said that he hopes the overseas territories will
continue their association with Portugal.
The liberalization measures announced this week
have encouraged the leftists to move on various fronts.
They have taken over key unions and have forced out
the managements of the government airline and some of
the news media.
The junta has announced publicly that it intends
to ensure a balanced media coverage of political
events. Although the left appeared to dominate radio
and television broadcasts during the first few days
after the coup, this week the media have focused on
interviews with a dozen or so political figures,
mostly from the center of the political spectrum.
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NOTES
France:
USSR-Cuba: Two Soviet destroyers and a diesel-
powered ballistic-missile submarine have remained
moored in Havana since arriving on April 30. The?
Cuban press says the ships will leave Havana next
Monday to visit other Cuban ports. They may conduct
exercises with Cuban ships before leaving the Carib-
bean.
ELtliaia: Labor strife abated yesterday when
telecommunications workers ended their wal%out. The
government of Prime Minister Endalkatchew is still
functioning ineffectively, however, and the US Em-
bassy reports that there is increasing talk that mili-
tary intervention will be necessary to restore order.
The embassy tends to believe a report that the group
of officers who won authority from Emperor Haile
Selassie to arrest 15 members of the previous cabi-
net met again yesterday.
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