Thousands $14, 630 36, 063 21, 433 Fiscal year 1975 presently available_. Fiscal year 1975 revised estimate___ Fiscal year 1975 proposed supplemental_ Budget Activity: Electronic Equipment. Justification of requirements.-This request for $21,432,514 is for radio and telephone communications equipment to be used in stabilizing the combat situation in South Vietnam. $9,275,244 is requested for quantities of twenty-two various signal equipments to be used for reconstitution, in the defensive perimeter, of four South Vietnamese Army divisions. $7,481,716 is requested for upgrade of 12 existing ranger groups to four full strength regular divisions. $4,675,554 is requested for quantities of twelve various signal equipments for upgrade of 27 Regional Force groups to full strength regiments. Equipments which are required include manpack and transportable radio equipment, which represent the largest money value, and field telephone sets which are the largest quantity items requested. Fiscal year 1975 presently available. Fiscal year 1975 proposed supplemental__ Budget Activity: Supply Operations. Thousands -$74, 000 167, 700 93, 700 Justification of supplemental requirements. This request for $93.7 million would fund packing, crating, handling and transportation costs for materiel provided South Vietnam under the supplemental request. The request is based on recent cost experience and assumes that virtually all supplementally funded items would be received in Vietnam during FY 75. This is consistent with the nature of items requested and their urgency of need. The request considers that a higher ratio of air shipment than previously used will be required for these urgent needs. Fiscal year 1975 presently available_ Budget Activity: Other Activities. Thousands $238, 710 277, 496 38, 786 Justification of supplemental requirements.-This request for $38.8 million reflects urgent requirements for stabilization and reconstitution of South Vietnamese Forces. This request is for petroleum, lubricants, general supplies, repair parts, medical supplies and mine detection equipment. $21.0 million is requested for general supplies and repair parts. These include critical replacement parts for artillery, vehicles, tanks, communications equipment and naval craft. Also included are vitally needed batteries for communications equipment and vehicles, individual field equipment, and defensive supplies for building bunkers and revetments. $10.4 million is a minimum request for POL products, including diesel fuel, gasoline, jet fuel and lubricants, to sustain combat operations at intense rates for the remaining months of the fiscal year. $7.0 million is requested for medical supplies needed for the current combat situation. $0.4 million is requested for mine detectors for engineer companies of the reconstituted and upgraded infantry units. In compliance with Section 844 of the Department of Defense Appropriation Act, FY 1975 (Public Law 93-437), no petroleum fuels furnished under the above request will be produced in the Continental United States. NUCLEAR REACTOR Mr. HAMILTON. I would like to ask about the nuclear research reactor at DaLoc. I understand ERDA officials went to Vietnam 52-900-76-16 during the withdrawals to remove the fuel rods and casings from that facility. Mr. HABIB. That is correct. Mr. HAMILTON. Was the mission carried out successfully? Mr. HABIB. Yes, it was. Mr. HAMILTON. Was the facility totally destroyed? Mr. HABIB. I don't think it is totally destroyed, but it is not operable and it will not be. VIABLE POLITICAL ALTERNATIVE Mr. HAMILTON. Is it your view today that President Thieu is the only viable political alternative in South Vietnam? I just thought I would slip that in. Mr. HABIB. For the record, you want me to comment about the Government with which we have formal relations. Very respectfully, Mr. Chairman, I think you will permit me not to answer that question. U.S. COMMITMENT Mr. HAMILTON. All right, sir. There has been a great deal of discussion-and with this I will conclude about the nature of our commitment there. Did the United States make any commitment, of any type, to Saigon in 1972 in order to get the Saigon Government to participate in the Paris peace talks, or in 1973 to get Saigon to agree to the accords? Mr. HABIB. Mr. Chairman, the proper response to that question is for me to read into the record the statement of the White House on April 9, and I would like to do so. Assurances to the Republic of Vietnam, as to both U.S. assistance and U.S. enforcement of the Paris Agreement, were stated clearly and publicly by President Nixon. The publicly stated policy and the intention of the U.S. Government to continue to provide adequate economic and military assistance and to react vigorously to major violations of the Paris Agreement reflected confidential exchanges between the Nixon administration and President Thieu at the time. In substance, the private exchanges do not differ from what was stated publicly. The law of 1973, of course, ruled out the possibility of American military reaction to violations of the agreement. SYMINGTON-ROGERS EXCHANGE Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Secretary, in February of 1973 Senator Symington asked then Secretary of State Rogers, and I quote: "Have we given any commitment to the South Vietnamese regarding future levels of assistance? Now, the Secretary answered, "No." Is that answer fully accurate? Mr. HABIB. As far as I am aware the Secretary is an honorable man and would only respond accurately. Mr. HAMILTON. And it is a fully accurate statement, in your judgment? Mr. HABIB. Yes, sir. Mr. HAMILTON. Any further questions? Mr. Fountain. Mr. FOUNTAIN. Mr. Chairman, this is more or less a qualifying question. As I understand it, the humanitarian aid which you have requested of this committee today and the form it takes and how it will be used is dependent upon the Congress providing military assistance; otherwise it would have to take a different form and a different approach and the Congress would have to be Mr. HABIB. It would be very difficult to conceive of it in the terms we have been talking about it today, yes, sir. Mr. FOUNTAIN. Thank you. Mr. HAMILTON. Any further questions? INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS Mr. WINN. Mr. Chairman. On the same line, the International Red Cross is not acceptable to the North Vietnamese; is that not true? Mr. HABIB. Oh, they have fooled around with them at various times, but I don't know what the current status is at the moment. Mr. GARDINER. They have in fact. Mr. HABIB. They have in fact done a few things, but at various times it has changed and I don't know what the current status is. What I would like to do is submit it for the record and then we will give you a precise statement of what we are doing at this time. Mr. WINN. I am trying to find out if we do not give military aid so that we can cover for our humanitarian aid and if we have seven outside agencies that are acceptable and are working in the humanitarian side and if the South Vietnamese Government collapses, if any of those seven agencies would be acceptable and would be able to continue their work under the North Vietnamese ? Mr. HABIB. It may be, but of course we are operating Mr. WINN. We are speculating. Mr. HABIB. That it will not collapse. Mr. WINN. I realize you are, but I am following up on Mr. Fountain's question. [The following information was supplied:] THE CURRENT STATUS OF ICRC ACTIVITIES VIS-A-VIS NORTH VIETNAM We know of no ICRC activities in North Vietnam at the present time. In May, 1973 the Indochina Operations Group (IOG), which was estabilshed by the ICRC and the International League of Red Cross Societies, helped to arrange for the delivery of some prefabricated housing units donated by the Swedish Government to the North Vietnamese Red Cross. Recently the ICRC sent $385,000 in cash donations to the Red Cross Society of the Provisional Revolutionary Government (PRG). This money was contributed by several European countries with the specific request that it be directed to the PRG. The International Red Cross, consisting of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the League of Red Cross Societies (LICROSS), both based in Geneva, Switzerland, have had programs in Indochina for almost three years under the working title of Indochina Operations Group (IOG). Begun in late 1972, the program in South Vietnam was to provide emergency assistance to refugees and other war victims. The International Red Cross delegates have cooperated closely with the Vietnamese Red Cross and channeled funds as well as large amounts of relief supplies through the VRC. In Cambodia as many as 30 international personnel, sometimes at great hazard, functioned in medico-relief teams, and at last report (April 14), 15 were still there. In Laos there is a small operation with one international delegate, mainly helping the Laotian Red Cross. The IOG provided prefabricated housing in North Vietnam. It has also provided medical supplies to the PRG but there are no International Red Cross personnel in either of the two latter locations. Attached is the latest report received from Geneva disclosing in more detail the program in the three Indochina countries. Annex B of the report gives a summary of contributions received in cash, kinds and services. Up to April 1, the Red Cross collected and committed some $24 million for these programs of which the USG has provided $3 million with a 4th million about to be paid in. IOG has been disbanded as such, but in a new relief effort designed to meet the emergency in Vietnam and Cambodia, the International Red Cross is campaigning for an additional $35 million of which it states $5 million is required for the three month period ending June 30, 1975. Mr. George Elsey, President of the American National Red Cross, wrote to Mr. Parker on April 10 urging a USG contribution to the $35 million emergency appeal (copy of letter attached). We pledged an additional $5 million on April 16 for use in territory controlled by the GVN. Word from Geneva informs us that as of April 7, the ICRC had received pledges totaling $5 million toward the new appeal. From this amount, ICRC has transferred 1.5 million Swiss francs to the Saigon Red Cross for local purchase of urgently needed relief supplies. The balance is being used for procurement in Europe of additional relief items. (Circular No. 14) INDOCHINA OPERATIONAL GROUP OF THE RED CROSS 1. Introduction.-This Circular is being published at a time when hostilities are escalating and giving cause for increasing concern. In the case of Cambodia, in particular, it may well have been overtaken by events by the time it is received. 2. The following pages give details of the various Red Cross activities on a country by country basis but the present situation may be summarized as follows. During recent months hostilities have increased in the Republic of Vietnam (RVN) particularly in Tay Ninh province and the relief programmes of the Red Cross of the Republic of Vietnam (CRVN) have been extended to cope with the particular needs of the families who have abandoned their homes to flee from the combat zones. The emergency housing programme in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN) is now within sight of completion, the last shipments of family units having now arrived in Haiphong from Vladivostok. Final orders are now being placed for the remaining medical units for the 250 bed hospital for the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam (PRG). In the Kingdom of Laos (KL) arrangements are proceeding for the return of many thousands of displaced persons to their original homes. A resettlement programme at Ban Kok Van is now well advanced as is the delivery of relief supplies to the area formerly controlled by the Pathet Lao. In the Khmer Republic fighting has been particularly intense in recent weeks around the capital Phnom Penh. The programmes of Assistance Internationale de la CroixRouge (AICR) have been expanded to care for the large number of families made homeless by the fighting. Additional medico-nutritional teams are being formed to give medical aid and high protein food to displaced persons, particularly the very young, in the camps in and around Phnom Penh and in the provinces. COUNTRY BY COUNTRY 3. Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRVN).-The emergency housing programee to provide nearly 4,000 family units is now in the final stages of completion. Considerable interest has been expressed in this project by various national Societies, Governments, and international organizations and a meeting of the Expert Group of the housing project was held in Geneva on 5th February 1975 to agree a procedure for the preparation of a comprehensive report which would ensure that all aspects, technical, financial and administrative were fully covered and the views of all concerned were obtained. M. Teikmans, who has been coordinating the programme on behalf of the IOG, is visiting Hanoi to evaluate the current state of the programme and to seek the assistance of the Red Cross Society and the authorities of the DRVN in preparing this report. THE REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM (RVN) 4. General.-Since the beginning of the year there has been a considerable increase in the level of hostilities in the RVN. Thousands of families were forced to flee their homes and the plight of these new war victims was considered sufficiently serious to warrant an appeal by the Government of the RVN to various international organizations for relief aid for these displaced persons. 5. The prison camp at Can-Tho has been visited by ICRC delegates in the later part of 1974, and they were able to distribute relief supplies to the prisoners. All these prisoners have been captured since the signature of the Paris Agreement of January 1973. 6. Mr. Dimitri Severi has been appointed by the League of Red Cross Societies as Liaison Officer to the CRVN and has arrived in Saigon to take up his new post. He will report to the Joint Directors of the Indochina Operational Group. RELIEF OPERATIONS 7. The need for relief distributions and medical aid to the victims of the war remains as great as ever. The IOG continues to channel substantial aid to the CRVN, which for the last 8 months has been running at some $115,000 per month, to assist with the relief programmes organised by the CRVN. 8. During the period August/December 1974 distributions of relief supplies by the CRVN were on the following scale. 9. The Tracing Service, which is run by the CRVN, continues to send to the Central Agency in Geneva requests for enquiries concerning military and civilian personnel who are missing in Vietnam. In the last quarter of 1974 this service has sent to Geneva about 140 dossiers of missing persons to forward to the Red Cross of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi. These requests have, to date, remained unanswered. PROVISIONAL REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH VIETNAM (PRG) 10. 250 bed Hospital Project.-Firm orders have now been placed for all the remaining medical units for the 250 bed hospital. The equipment, all of which should arrive at Haiphong before the end of the year, has been so arranged that it can function assembled together as a 250 bed hospital or, if necessary, operate as viable independent units. The total budget for the project now stands at Sw. Frs. 6.5 million. KINGDOM OF LAOS 11. Within the framework of its plan for national reconstruction the Government of National Union has established a programme for the gradual return of displaced persons to their villages of origin. A very large number of families are involved and the movement and resettlement of such numbers of people will require a considerable amount of help from external sources. An airlift has been organised from Vientiane to the Plain of Jars where the transit of displaced persons from both zones will be processed. It is estimated that, out of a total popula |