DEVELOPMENTS IN INDOCHINA

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85T00875R001000090023-3
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 10
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 3, 2008
• Sequence Number: 23
• Publication Date: January 28, 1973
• Content Type: REPORT

 Approved For Release 2008/11/03: CIA-RDP85T00875R001000090023-3
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DIRECTORATE OF
INTELLIGENCE
Developments in Indochina
State Dept. review completed
Top Secret
I Ii r
A-k )
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DEVELOPMENTS IN INDOCHINA
(Information as of 1500)
SOUTH VIETNAM
Sharp fighting continues throughout the
countryside as both government and Communist
forces maneuver to improve their territorial
holdings. Most fighting since the cease-fire
went into effect on 28 January has resulted from
South Vietnamese efforts to roll back enemy
gains made just prior to the cease-fire.
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Peking has strongly endorsed the Vietnam cease-
fire agreement and called for peaceful con-
sultations to resolve any problems on the
political future of South Vietnam.
LAOS
Communist pressure has increased against
m Long.
CAMBODIA
Communist activity is confined to small attacks
on scattered government outposts, and Presi-
dent Lon Nol has announced a suspension of
offensive activity. Sihanouk has told
Western journalists that Khmer insurgents
will continue fighting.
28 January 1973
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NORTH
iIV,11.'TN arn+ILIIA141.1r01ONl Mil I
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SOUTH VIETNAM
Sharp fighting continues throughout the
countryside as both government and Communist forces
maneuver to improve their territorial holdings.
Most fighting since the cease-fire went into effect
on 28 January has resulted from South Vietnamese
efforts to roll back enemy gains made just prior
to the cease-fire.
Some of the heaviest fighting centers on the
provincial capital of Tay Ninh, where communist
forces apparently control portions of the city as
well as stretches of the major roads linking it
with Saigon. Government defenders, apparently with
the help of fresh reinforcements and substantial
South Vietnamese air and artillery support, have
recaptured several hamlets near the city that were
lost on Saturday. The province chief told US
Embassy officers that he is confident the rest of
the city will be cleared within a day or so.
Government forces in the Saigon area have made
some progress retaking hamlets and villages which
had been in Communist hands. In addition, the main
highway connecting the capital with the populous
delta region has been reopened. In Chuong Thien
Province, all five district capitals remain in
government hands, although portions of two district
towns were apparently overrun earlier in the
weekend.
In the northern half of the country, fighting
was heaviest along coastal Route 1, notably in
Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai provinces. Several district
capitals were shelled, and Communist and government
forces are still battling for control of Sa Huynh.
In the central highlands, some street fighting was
reported in Da Lat, and Viet Cong flags were observed
in Pleiku Ca_ty. Kontum City remains isolated and
several provincial and district centers are cut off
by Communist road blocks. On the government side,
28 January 1973
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South Vietnamese Marines apparently recaptured
a strategically located navy base at the mouth
of the Cua Viet River in Quang Tri Province just
prior to the cease-fire hour, despite a heavy
North Vietnamese artillery barrage.
Much of the current fighting on the part
of the South Vietnamese appears aimed at coun-
tering Communist local forces who seized key road
junctions and bridges that could be used to stop
movement between government-he1r1 arpac
South
vie namese torces had been ordered to reclaim
such areas, even if the resultant fighting con-
Neither the Communists nor
government forces have embarked on an all-out
military effort, however. The Viet Cong's Libera-
tion Radio claims that the Communist troops have
been ordered to "avoid regrettable incidents,"
while South Vietnamese provincial officials have
indicated that their efforts are limited to re-
storing government control as it existed immedi-
ately prior to the cease-fire.
28 January 1973
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INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Peking has strongly endorsed the Vietnam
cease-fire agreement and urged its conscientious
implementation to bring peace to Vietnam and. "re-
lax tension in Asia and in the world." This
first authoritative comment, contained in a 28
January People's Daily editorial and a subse-
quent statement by Foreign Minister Chi Peng-fei,
praised the agreement as a victory for the Vietnamese
people and voiced Peking's traditional support for
the concept of eventual unification. The statements
stopped well short of any direct endorsement of a
continuation of hostilities once US forces are
withdrawn. Peking stressed that tremendous efforts
are required by all parties concerned to fulfill
the points of the agreement and claimed that they
must be carried out in a step-by-step manner through
peaceful means. Specifically, the Chinese urged
peaceful consultations among the three South Vietnamese
political forces (i.e., the Viet Cong, the Saigon
regime, and the neutralists) to ensure the political
future of the South. In this latter context, Peking
acknowledged its adherence to the cease-fire agree-
ment by dropping the claim that the PRG is the
government of South Vietnam, referring to it
merely as the "true re resentative" of the South
Vietnamese people.
28 January 1973
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The Communists are again increasing pressure
against Bouam Long, the government fortress north
of the Plaine des Jarres. The heaviest enemy shellings
in several days forced government irregulars to
abandon one outpost south of the base on 26
January. The Vietnamese attempted no major ground
assaults this weekend, but increasingly heavy enemy
movement on trails near Bouam Long suggests that
the Communists may be attempting to concentrate
their forces for an attack.
28 January 1973
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CAMBODIA
Communist military activity throughout most
of the country is at its lowest level in several
weeks. In the Phnom Penh area, the Communists are
continuing to carry out small attacks by fire
against scattered government positions, resulting
in few casualties. On the government side, Presi-
dent Lon Nol has announced that Cambodian govern-
ment forces will suspend all offensive activity
on 29 J
anuary.
A BeZZicose Sihanouk
In his first public comments since the announce-
ment of the Vietnam cease-fire agreement, Sihanouk
on 27 January reaffirmed to Western journalists
in Peking that Khmer insurgent forces in Cambodia
will go on fighting. He stated that there was no
possibility for stopping the Cambodian conflict
unless the US abandons Lon Nol. The deposed prince
again ruled out any negotiations with the Lon Nol
government, and repeated that his governmer:.t.-in-exile
would never participate in an international confer-
ence. He added that he would be willing to hold
bilateral peace talks with the US in either Paris
or Ottawa.
As for the Paris agreement, Sihanouk called it
"a victory" for his Vietnamese Communist allies. He
then indicated that he believed the agreement would
eventually break down and fighting would resume in
Vietnam. He said it was "inconceivable" that Saigon
and the Viet Cong could reconcile their political
differences by peaceful means.
28 January 1973
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