THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 13 JUNE 1972

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0005993351
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 12
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: June 13, 1972

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The President's Daily Brief
13 June 1972
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
13 June 1972
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
The North Vietnamese have launched a massive over-
land resupply effort from China, and together with
the Chinese are working on a pipeline to carry pe-
troleum south from the border. (Page 1)
Yesterday Peking issued its strongest statement in
support of Hanoi since the intensification of the
fighting this spring. (Page 2)
South Vietnamese troops have made gains in the fight-
ing at An Loc, while Communist forces maintain heavy
pressure in the northern delta area. (Page 3)
(Page 4)
Egyptian President Sadat has given further evidence
of his frustration at the lack of progress in solving
the Arab-Israeli dispute, (Page '6)
Soviet President Podgorny. now is scheduled to arrive
in Hanoi tomorrow. (Page 7)
The resignation of President Allende's cabinet sets
.the stage forthe_long-awaited reorganization of the
Chilean Government. (Page 7)
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Heavy Road/Rail Traffic Between Lang Son and Hanoi
5532.29 6-72 CIA .
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NORTH VIETNAM
? The North Vietnamese have, evidently launched
a massive overland resupply effort from China. On
the night of 9 June, US Navy pilots estimated that
between .30 and 40 trucks per mile were moving on
the 90-mile segment of Route lA between.Lang Son
and Hanoi?about four times the level observed on?
the same stretch two nights earlier. Very heavy
truck traffic was. sighted the next night along a
25-mile stretch of the road. south of Lang Son, and
on 11 June trucks were reported backed up bumper
to bumper at the downed rail-highway bridge at Na
Chon, 'Attacks on this concentration resulted in
numerous secondary explosions and a "continuous
wall of flame," suggesting that the vehicles were
loaded with petroleum products'.
Photography of 6 and 7 June indicates that the
Chinese and.North Vietnamese also are working on a
pipeline to carry petroleum south.from the Chinese
border town of Ping-hsiang. The photographs show
trenching between the petroleum storage area of
Ping-hsiang and the North Vietnamese town of Dong
Dang. Moreover, 40 storage tanks are being added
to the 50 now at Ping,-hsiang.
The construction between Ping-hsiang and Dong
Dang is apparently related to the pipeline recently
observed under construction from Hai Duong north-
ward toward Kep. Photographs show some
segments of pipe above ground midway between Kep
and Dong Dang, indicating an intention to link
Hanoi with the Chinese border. Thea distance from
Kep to Dong pang is about 50 miles.
North Vietnamese communications show that
one ship, anchored near Vinh with 3,000 tons of
cargo still aboard, has been unable to unload during
recent nights because of fear of attack. The sec-
ond Chinese ship, located about 60 miles south at
Hon La Island, has discharged only between 300 and
400 tons and has 3,000 tons still on board. One
message reported that the Hon La area had been "ter-
rorized" by US destroyers on 9 June.
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CHINA-VIETNAM
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a strong
statement on Vietnam yesterday. This was in.re-
sponse to Hanoi's appeal of 10 June for strong in-?
ternational support.. The statement links bombing
of areas "close to the Sino-Vietnamese borders" to
?a "threat to Chinese security"--a reference the Chi-
nese have avoided since the allied incursion into
Laos in March 1971, The statement also labels US
military actions in North Vietnam as "grave provoca-
tions against the Chinese people" and reiterates the
"resolute support". of the Chinese people and govern-
ment for Hanoi's cause, noting that "China and Viet-
nam are neighbors closely related like the lips and
teeth"--formulations that Peking has employed--but
rarely--within the past six months.
The statement concludes by? noting that "US im-
perialism should'know that the heroic"peoples of
Vietnam and other Indochinese countries are by no
means alone in their struggle." This phraseology
has never previously appeared in Chinese expressions
of support for North Vietnam,
This is Peking's strongest statement in
support of Hanoi since the intensification
of fighting in Vietnam, but it commits the
Chinese to no particular course of action.
They have clearly delimited the area of
their primary concern to the Sino-Vietnam-
ese border, while at the same time moving
some way to assuage North Vietnamese feel-
ings. This Foreign Ministry statement,
coupled with Peking's declaration at the
UN environmental conference at Stockholm
over the weekend, represents a general
hardening of the public Chinese position
on the fighting in Indochina. Peking's
propaganda, however, still remains ata
somewhat milder level than during the Laos
incursion, considerably milder than in
1965 when operation Rolling Thunder first
got under way, and in general neither
overly provocative nor bellicose.
While much of the Foreign Ministry state-
ment seems designed primarily for North
Vietnamese consumption, the phrase noting
that Washington should know that the Viet
namese are "not completely alone in their
struggle" seems a signal to the US that
Peking recognizes its continuing obliga-
tion to Hanoi.
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406
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SOUTH VIETNAM
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SOUTH VIETNAM
South Vietnamese troops have retaken the north-
western section of An Loc, leaving only one pocket
of enemy resistance within the town. Road access
to An Loc remains blocked, however. Government
forces yesterday reported sporadic fighting at sev-
eral points along Route 13 but no further progress
in clearing the highway.
In the northern Mekong Delta area, Communist
forces are maintaining heavy pressure on government
positions, particularly in Dinh Tuong and Kien
Tuong provinces. 25X1
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Although the disposition of these forces
suggests that they currently pose little
direct threat to Saigon, small-scale ac-
tions such as road interdictions, terror-
ism, and shellings are well within their
capabilities. The enemy's attacks else-
where in MR 3 have served to divert troops
from Saigon, but the government now is
taking steps to improve the capital's
defenses. The National Police are aug-
menting forces throughout the city and
instituting intensive screening procedures
to prevent the infiltration of weapons
and supplies. On the city's outskirts,
Regional Force units are patrolling along
known infiltration routes and in areas
where the Communists have frequently
mounted rocket attacks.
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NORTH VIETNAM
(S
ENT ONLY
FORT
(continued)?
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EGYPT
In a conversation with former UN ambassador
Yost on 10 June, President Sadat gave further evi-
dence of his frustration at the lack of progress
in solving the Arab-Israeli dispute. Sadat placed
the blame for the impasse on Washington's failure
to persuade Israel to match concessions made by
Cairo, and charged that the US had abandoned ef-
forts to find a peaceful way to liberate Egyptian
territory. Because of the difficulty of harming
the Israelis, he warned that US interests through-
out the Arab world would suffer if peace did not
come soon.
Egypt's frustration over the Zack of
movement toward a settlement and over its
inability to achieve one by military means
has been growing in recent months. Sadat,
moreover, sees a threat to his own posi-
tion in popular realization that he has
made no progress toward resolving his
dilemma.
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NOTES
USSR - North Vietnam: There has been some
slippage in the timing of Soviet President Podgorny's
visit to North Vietnam,
Podgorny is now scheduled
to be in Hanoi from 14-17 June. He may be accom-
panied by Konstantin Katushev, the Central Committee
official responsible for Moscow's relations with
ruling Communist parties. Katushev accompanied
Podgorny on his visit to North Vietnam last October,
and he was in Hanoi again in April, immediately
after Dr. Kissinger's visit to the USSR.
Chile: The resignation of President Allende's
entire cabinet, announced yesterday, sets the stage
for the long-awaited government reorganization. A
long and bitter debate has been under way within
the governing coalition on the direction the gov-
ernment should take. The new cabinet list, not yet
published, will show whether Allende and his more
moderate supporters among the Communists have come
out on top. Allende plans a major address later
this week.
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