THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 18 APRIL 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993252
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 18, 1972

7.7 r"7-.. ?
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The President's Daily Brief
18 April 1972
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FOR THE PRESIDENT ONLY
THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
18 April 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
on
age we ?iscuss this order and other Soviet re-
actions to events in Vietnam. On Page 3 we comment
on Xuan Thuy's statement in Paris yesterday linking
Hanoi's negotiating stance with the US bombing in
North Vietnam. The latest military developments
in South Vietnam appear on Page 4.
The Chinese are adding a port to their facilities
in the Paracels, the southernmost territory under
Peking's control. (Page 5)
The Pakistani National Assembly yesterday approved
an interim constitution. (Page 6)
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USSR-VIETNAM
The Soviets yesterday published the full text
of their protest note to the US and stated that So-
viet ships in Haiphong had been damaged while un-
loading "civilian cargo." They took note of the
casualties among Vietnamese dock workers but said
nothing about the injury of a Soviet seaman
According to TASS, the Soviet party official
responsible for Moscow's relations with ruling Com-
munist parties met with the North Vietnamese charge
in Moscow yesterday in an "atmosphere of cordiality,
unity, and fraternal friendship."
The presence of the charge at the talk
suggests that North Vietnamese Ambassador
Dong may have returned to Hanoi in the
last few days. He was last noted in Mos-
cow on 13 April. Most of Hanoi's senior
envoys have been in Hanoi since the begin-
ning of this month.
Developments in Indochina had their first direct
impact on bilateral US-Soviet relations yesterday
when the Soviets canceled the first meeting of the
US-Soviet maritime talks in Washington. They specif-
ically cited the "events of yesterday," meaning the
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US.bombing raids on 15-16 April. Soviet delegation
chief Averin, expressing regret, told US representa-
tives that neither the scheduled morning meeting of
the delegation heads nor the succeeding formal ses-
sion would take place. He then largely diluted the
effect of his message, however, by inviting US offi-
cials to meet with him at noon and by proceeding
with the talks after lunch.
Averin's apparent embarrassment at having
the talks even slightly disrupted, his
reluctance to mention Vietnam by name, and
the limited nature of the protest itself
suggest that the Soviets are anxious to
make their display of displeasure as pro
forma as possible, at least for the pres-
ent, in ongoing bilateral relations.
2
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NORTH VIETNAM
Chief negotiator Xuan Thuy told the press yes-
terday that if the Paris negotiations were resumed
"in the usual manner" and if the US stopped bombing
North Vietnam, politburo member Le Duc Tho would re-
turn to Paris. Thuy also intimated that further se-
cret talks might be possible if these two conditions
were met.
Thuy 's announcement would seem to signal a
more flexible approach to negotiating tac-
tics than has been implicit in Hanoi's re-
cent public line. His statement, however,
reveals nothing of the substance of cur-
rent Communist negotiating demands. He
said only that Hanoi continues to support
the Viet Cong seven points and the two-
point "elaboration" on them last February.
But Thuy's ostensible interest in resuming
the talks suggests that the Communists
hope to create the impression that they
have something new in mind.
This move clearly is in part a response
to the bombing attacks over the weekend.
At yesterday's press conference, Thuy
quoted extensively from an emotional North
Vietnamese government-party statement that
struck a defensive tone in asserting that
the bombing will have no long-range effect.
The statement also seemed to betray Hanoi's
discomfort over the current diplomatic sit-
uation, claiming that the US is "using
crafty political and diplomatic ploys to
cover up its wicked design of aggression."
It also repeated the appeal for additional
public support which Hanoi directed at the
Soviet Union and China on 11 April.
Nothing, however, in either Thuy 's remarks
or the joint statement indicates that
Hanoi is bending under the current strains.
The new line may well be designed not only
to put maximum public pressure on the US
to halt the bombing but to provide ammuni-
tion to domestic opponents of Washington's
entire Vietnam policy.
3
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Demilitarized Zone
Capital Special Zone
?10 EN 10
South ?
China
Sea
12?
Gulf of
Thailand
SOUTH VIETNAM
190
1041r 1r MILES
111?
.
552869 4-72
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SOUTH VIETNAM
The relative lull in major Communist attacks
continues throughout most of the country. Today
the Communists increased their shelling of An Loc
but they have mounted no new armored or infantry
assaults against the town. The enemy buildup nearby
and along Route 13 to the south now includes all
three regiments of the 7th Division. With two regi-
ments from both the 5th and 9th Divisions as well
as one independent regiment there, the Communists
now have a total of eight regiments deployed against
about five South Vietnamese regiments.
In MR-2, Communist forces are showing new vigor,
particularly in interdicting lines of communication.
For over a week they have blocked Route 19 connect-
ing the highlands to the coast. Local forces have
knocked out bridges, mined roads, and ambushed con-
voys along Route 1 from Binh Dinh south through
Phu Yen to Khanh Hoa Province. Traffic on Route 14
in the central highlands and on Route 21 in south-
ern MR-2 is also being harassed, but so far to a
lesser degree.
Enemy forces in MR-2 have scored three note-
worthy successes in the past week. Elements of
the Communist 320th Division drove government de-
fenders out of Fire Base Charlie north of Kontum
city late last week, as reported yesterday in The
President's Daily Brief, and local Viet Cong units
overran Tam Quan District headquarters in Binh Dinh
Province over the weekend. In an engagement on
Saturday not previously reported, elements of the,
Communist 3rd Division forced two battalions of
South Vietnamese troops to break and run, although
they regrouped a few hours later.
Some government forces are doing well, however.
While the South Vietnamese continue to hold An Loc
against a large enemy force, yesterday other units
attacked the Communists in two engagements ten miles
southwest of Hue. They report that they killed 370
of the enemy.
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Chinese Continue Construction in Paracel Islands
LAOS
THAILAND
0 SO 100
Statute Miles
Hanoi?
CHINA
NORTH'
CUP
VIETNAM OF
SS TONKIN
SOUTH
VIETNAM
Canton
?
Yu-lie
Construction activity
on Woody Island
SOUTH
CHINA
SEA
, t
MACAO HONG
(PONT.) KONG
'U.K.)
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CHINA
Recent satellite photography shows that the
Chinese are adding a port to their facilities at
Woody Island in the Paracels. They have completed
about one third of a 1,500-foot quay, together with
the necessary dredging to bring oceangoing ships
alongside. Since last October they have also added
more antiaircraft sites, a radar facility, and 12
buildings to the 130 structures previously there.
5
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NOTES
USSR:
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Pakistan: The National Assembly approved an in-
terim constitution yesterday, President Bhutto's pre-
requisite for lifting martial law this coming Friday.
The constitution leans toward a strong central presi-
dency and contains other provisions that will have
the effect of maintaining Bhutto in power. The au-
tonomy-minded regional opposition parties abstained,
fearing that a vote against the constitution would
put them on record as obstructing the lifting of mar-
tial law. The intense rivalry between Bhutto's Pak-
istan People's Party and the opposition could compli-
cate the writing of the permanent constitution be-
tween now and August 1973.
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Top Secret
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