PRIME MINISTER'S TOUR OF S( UTH-EAST ASIA 4 r C)
PRESS CONFERENCE GIVEN BY THE PRIIE MINISTER,
iR. HAROLD HOLT, AT SAIGON. 26th April, 1966.
Thank you Mr. Linh for your introduction and good
morning to you ladies and gentlemen.
As Mr. Linh has explained to you, I have a prepared
statement. I thought having regard to the need for translation,
in respect of some of the members of the press, it might be
desirable t0 have a statement preparea which coulu be translated
before-hand and so it gives an outline of what I wish to say.
But you can supplement this to a certain extent by
questions you may wish to ask.
You will appreciate, of course, that I am an official
guest and the head of the Government in my own country and that
does place some limitations upon the range of comments that one
woula otherwise, perhaps, be able to make in a visit of this sort,
but I think we shall be able to cover the ground adequately enough
together. This morning sees the conclusion of my official visit
to Viet Nam. Later today I visit Ubon in Northern Thailand where
an Australian Air Force Squadron is stationed.
From there I go to Bangkok, and subsequently to
various centres where Australian F'orces are serving in Malaysia
and Singapore. I have felt it important to go to all these centres
because there is an impression in some countries and even among
some people in our own country, that because Viet Nam is so very
much in the news that we are not doing very much anywhere else.
Jell, in point of fact, we have a military obligation
and have undertaken military assistance in other centres and I
shall be visiting these before I return to Australia.
I am deeply appreciative of the welcome which has
been given to me in Viet Nam anu of the many evidences of
friend-ship ana warm feeling for Australia which I have
experienced. I have haa inforim. tive ana useful exchanges of views
with the Chairman of the National Leadership Committee, with the
Prime inister and with other Vietnamese le. aauers, as well as with
Australian, United States ana other officials.
These contacts, together with the observations I have
been able to make in visits to military anac other estabñ ishments,
have given me a closer insight into the situation in Viet Nam and
into current problems.
MiIy conclusions and assessments have strongly confirmed
the earlier judgments on which we have based our policies.
It was not necessary for me to come to Viet Nam to come
to a firm conclusion as to the course of action Australia should
pursue. we have aecidcd that course some considerable time ago
but it has certainly strengtheneu an, confirmea the assessments
which we haa earlier maqe in deciding those policies.
As Prime Minister of Australia I was able in person to
convey to the Vietnamese Government the admiration and support of
the Government and people of Australia for the South Vietnamese
people in their struggle to preserve their national independence.
Our support for the Republic of Viet Nam has included
moral support, International Political and Diplomatic support, as
well as Military and Economic assistance.
Jo have a great interest in the effort of Viet Nam to
achieve internal stability.
At the same time, we comprehend that this is no easy
task, and the Government and people of Viet Nam may be assured of
our understanding and awareness of the difficulties they face.
This country has for years been under Communist attack
systematically designed to destroy the growth of its institutions
and its structure of administration.
The Republic of Viet Nam also has faced great problems
after the end of dolonialism in bringing about national stability
and cohesion. But the will to resist Communist aggression and to
prevent Communist domination is common to all the different
elements other than the Viet Cong anu its so-called liberation
front. This has been a constant factor throughout a period
of political change.
I have discussed the m. ilitary situation with the most
senior military and diplomatic figures in the Government, the
United States representation and that of Australia.
All have confidently expressed the view that the
iilitary threat can be successfully dealt with.
There are political difficulties which all recognise.
The task of the United States ana Australia and of
other allied countries is to help resist the aggression and ensure
the security of the country while it establishes the basis for an
enduring stability. The aspirations of the Vietnamese people are the same
as those of many other newly independent countries of South and
South-East Asia, namely the right to the full and free exercise
of sovereignty and national inaependence.
Each has the right to the forms of Government and
society of its chcice and to develop its own approach to the
problems of aconomic and social development.
In resolutely waging its own struggle for freedom,
South Viet Nam is making a major contribution to the security of
the whole region. The problems of security and development are, of
course, interdependent. Efforts to provide and preserve security by dilitary
means need to be complemented by measures designed to raise
standards of living.
It was with particular interest, therefore, that I
have learnea about the Vietnamese Government's revolutionary
development programme. I knew, of course, of it in general before I came
here but this visit has enabled me to learn about it in much more
detail. The programme is designed to counter the Communist
threat to the villagers by providing protection and in various
useful ways building a better life for the people in rural areas.
Yesterday morning I visited the Revolutionary
Development Cadre Training Centre at Vung Tau where teams are
being given comprehensive training for these tasks.
I was most impressed by the dedication of the
instructing staff and the thoroughness and realism of their
training programme. Of special interest for me, of course, have been the
visits to Australian military and civilian personnel serving in
Viet Nam and the discussions I've had with them have been full of
interest and valuable information.
Our present force is small but it is a highly trained
and effective force, which includes a body of instructors working
directly with the Vietnamese Armed Forces imparting their
knowledge ana skills to improve the performance of thousands of
others. ie are now in the course of trebling the size of the
present Australian effort to 0., 500 men.
This will be a self-containca task force with two
battalions, a special reconnaissance squadron, its own air
transport support, artillery and so on.
In addition, the auvisory training programie will
continue. I have been greatly encouraged by what I hive seen of
the work and the morale of the Australian Forces.
Wherever I have gone I hnve been given glowing accounts
of their standard of performance.
They clearly have a well developed sense of purpose
and a proper pride in their achievement.
They well understand the need for what they are
doing.
In their military operations they have added to the
security of the local villages and they themselves have had the
satisfaction of seeing the villagers react favourably to the
greater protection they have brought.
They have participated gladly in work of civic action
through giving medical and dental services, help with sanitation,
school construction, and the teaching of English.
The careful searches conducted by the battalion have
led to the recovery of supplies of rice sufficient to feed many
thousands of Viet Cong over a considerable period.
In addition, they have helped save rice harvests for
the villages and have denied then to the Viet Cong.
They also fully realise the nature of the struggle and
that the contributions they can make to security, welfare and
social progress must suppleilent operations of a purely military
kind. I visited several hospitals and, of course, took
particular interest in the admirable work of our own Australian
surgical team at the Bien Hoa Provincial Hospital.
I believe much more needs to be done through
international effort in the medical field.
I have been deeply impressed by the high morale and
devotion to auty shown by all these Australians in the difficult
and often arduous conditions in which they are fighting and
working. I would sum up comment on my visit by saying that it
has been of absorbing interest, it will be of endu ing benefit in
my discussions with my Cabinet colleagues ana for assessment of
any future developments, and I shall take away with me an abiding
impression of the resolution, the detennination and devotion to
the cause of freedon of the people of South Viet Nan themselves.
No cox. ment on the current situation coulu ignore the
tremendous part being played by the United States of America, its
forces and its material contribution.
This, I believe, is an historic struggle which is
proceeding in South Viet Nan today.
It could very well mark a turning point in history and
if we can succeed not rimrely in gaining the military success but
in establishing a better world order, or its foundation, or its
example, in tnis area of the world, then I believe that those
friendly forces and in particular the United States of America
whose contribution is so vast, will have made a notable contribution
to mankind's unending search for freedom and a better world order.