Press Release

Office of the Historian
Bureau of Public Affairs
United States Department of State
March 3, 2011

The Department of State released today Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–12, Documents on East and Southeast Asia, 1973–76. This volume is the latest publication in the subseries of the Foreign Relations series that documents the most important foreign policy decisions and actions of the Presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Volume E–12 is published in electronic-only format and is available free of charge on the Internet. Approximately 25 percent of volumes covering the Nixon and Nixon-Ford administrations are published in the electronic-only format.

This volume includes official historical documentation on U.S. relations with Japan, North and South Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, ANZUS, Papua New Guinea, the Pacific Islands, the Philippines, SEATO, and ASEAN from 1973 through 1976. The chapter on Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos covers the period from May 1975 through December 1976. A chapter on Thailand and Burma will be added once it has been fully cleared for publication. Although this volume is meant to stand on its own, it is best read in conjunction with two other volumes: Vol. XVIII, China, 1973–1976 and Vol. X, Vietnam, January 1973–May 1975.

U.S. policy toward East and Southeast Asia during these years sought to rebalance U.S. policy following the subordination of other concerns to the waging of the Vietnam war. The policies of the Nixon and Ford administrations were also affected by the evolving Sino-American relationship, the Nixon doctrine, and the challenge of pursuing economic growth within a fluctuating international monetary system. During 1975 and 1976, the United States spent a great deal of time reassuring its Asian allies of its commitment to remain engaged in the region, many of whom expressed alarm following the collapse of pro-American governments in South Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

Bradley Lynn Coleman, David Goldman, and David Nickles compiled and edited this volume, which is available exclusively on the Office of the Historian website at http://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76ve12. For further information, contact Susan Weetman, General Editor of the Foreign Relations series, at (202) 663-1276 or by e-mail to history@state.gov.