422 



One candidate envisioned for such soft loan funding was the Mekong 

 Project: 



The Bank may also be expected to cooperate with interested countries and 

 international agencies in financing projects which may emerge over the years 

 in the development of the lower Mekong River Basin. The Bank's involvement in 

 Mekong River development is expected to be through financial participation on 

 a project by project basis, where such projects are of priority in the development 

 programs of the riparian countries and appropriate for Special Funds financing. 

 By the nature of the potential projects, as well as the general economic condition 

 of the Mekong riparian countries, such projects may be expected to qualify for 

 Special Funding financing. 84 



Perhaps the most comprehensive statement of the Nixon doctrine of 

 regionalism was presented in his message to Congress of February 25, 

 1971, transmitting his Second Annual Review of United States For- 

 eign Policy. In this report, he developed the general theme that a new 

 partnership among nations was needed to share the responsibilities 

 and the tangible burdens of global leadership and underdevelopment. 

 Withdrawal of U.S. forces from Vietnam was one manifestation of 

 this new concept. Another was a — 



. . . more restrained American approach, designed to encourage and sustain 

 Asian regionalism, Asian self-reliance, anu Asian initiatives. For those character- 

 istics are essential to the construction of a stable international order in the 

 region. 85 



For the future, said the President : 



Asian regionalism has an essential role to play in the future structure of Asia. 

 It is already a source of growing strength to the individual Asian nations. 

 Through joint action, their potential influence on the future of the region far ex- 

 ceeds that which they can exert acting individually. 80 



The President went on to cite specific elements of Asian regionalism, 

 such as the "Five Power Arrangement for the defense of Malaysia and 

 Singapore," the regional security organization of SEATO, the ANZUS 

 Pact, and the Djakarta eleven-nation meeting on the Cambodian crisis. 

 One important mechanism of regionalism, lie said, was the Asian De- 

 velopment Bank. The Bank, 



... To which the U.S. has contributed only 20 percent of the capital, has 

 become an established and major source of capital and technical assistance to 

 meet Asian needs. In li)'<0 the Bank had its most active year to date, approving 

 fifty-three projects and increasing its lending by 150 percent. I hope that the 

 Congress will give early approval to the proposal for an additional $100 million 

 U.S. contribution to a Special Fund permitting the Bank to finance projects 

 which, while meritorious, require more generous terms than those now ex- 

 tended. 87 



With specific reference to the Mekong Project, the President de- 

 el a red — 



Political difference notwithstanding, the effort continues to develop within a 

 regional framework Southeast Asia's single major resource — the Lower Mekong 



" l T.S. Congress, House, Committee on Banking and Currency, To Authorize the United 

 States to Participate in Increases in the Resources of the Asian Development Hunk, the 

 International Monetary Fund, and the International Hank for Reconstruction and Dentop 

 ment Hearing on ll H 18891 (Washington, D.C. : U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970), 

 91st Congress. 2nd Session, 16, April 17. 1970, p. 44. 



86 U.S. Foreign Polieu for the 1970's: Building for Peace, Message from the President of 

 the United 81 itea Transmitting ids Second Annual Review of United states Foreign Policy, 

 February 25, 1971, 92d Congress, 1st Session, House Document 92 53 (Washington, D.C: 

 U.S. Government Printing Office 1971), p. 74. 



M/bid., p. 77. 



"Ibid., p. 79. 



