423 



Basin. This project has an almost immeasurable potential for the well-being of 

 the countries of the Basin, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Along with 

 a large number of other non-Asian states, we continue to participate actively in 

 this massive scheme to harness the hydro-electric, irrigation, and transportation 

 potential of one of Asia's greatest rivers. Its promise for transforming the life 

 of the area is at least equal to the impact of TVA in our own country. 88 



The diplomatic implications of regionalism as "one of the new reali- 

 ties of Asia" were essentially threefold : it provided a focus for the ex- 

 tending of multilateral aid to development, it generated a spirit of 

 cooperation in overcoming the "divisions and enmities of the past," 

 and "its vigor is one of the guarantees of the influence of Asia's smaller 

 states in the future political structure of the region." 89 



Again in 1972, the President alluded to the theme of regionalism in 

 Asia in his Report to Congress on "United States Foreign Policy for 

 the 1970s, The Emerging Structure of Peace." 90 



He spoke with approval of the "noteworthy advance of the spirit 

 of regionalism in Asia," citing the meeting of the Association of 

 Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) at Kuala Lumpur, in November 

 1971, and the utility of the Asian and Pacific Council (ASPAC). Said 

 the President : 



A central purpose of the new partnership we are building with Asian states is 

 to nurture a growing sense of regional identity and self-confidence. Without it, 

 a vital impetus for cooperation would be lost, and individual nations would be 

 obliged to choose between an inward-looking nationalism, and excessive reliance 

 on the initiative of others to bring coherence and stability to the area. Working 

 together, however, smaller powers can gain the influence needed to mold their 

 own futures, while their efforts provide a natural focus for assistance and co- 

 operation from others. 



The President again stressed the need for support of the Asian De- 

 velopment Bank as "a major source of the area's development and 

 technical assistance." By the end of 1971, he reported, the ADB had 

 approved 85 loans to developing nations in Asia, totaling some $639 

 million. He added : 



Though I attach great importance to our continued financial support for Asian 

 development — including Congressional approval of soft loan funds for the Asian 

 Development Bank — there are welcome signs that others recognize the limits of 

 our resources and the need for a broader effort. [He cited Japan, Australia, and 

 New Zealand as leaders in this movement.] 



It was revealed on January 27, 1972, that President Nixon had ex- 

 tended in two secret sessions of the Paris peace talks with Hanoi, "last 

 summer," through his representatives in Paris an offer of $7.5 billion 

 in aid to Indochina, of which something like $2.5 billion would be 

 earmarked for postwar reconstruction aid to North Vietnam. The 

 offer was in response to demands from the Hanoi representatives for 

 reparations from the United States. Newspaper reports of this devel- 

 opment linked it to the offer by President Johnson in his Johns Hop- 

 kins speech, and called attention to the changed situation since then. 

 President Johnson had deplored the death, up to April 1965, of "400 

 young men," while William P. Rogers, Secretary of State, in 1972 



88 Ibid. 



89 TbM., p. 80. 



90 Richard Nixon, "United States Foreign Policy for the 1970's : The Emerging Struc- 

 ture of Peace," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Vol. 8, No. 7 (February 14, 

 1972), pp. 304-307. 



