263. Letter From President Carter to Australian Prime Minister Fraser1
Your letter of February 102 reflects our close identity of views on the need to avoid further escalation of conflict in Indochina and to support the cohesion and confidence of ASEAN. I assured Prime Minister Kriangsak last week of our deep interest in the integrity and freedom of Thailand and the security and independence of ASEAN. I will back my assurances with increased FMS credits, speeded weapons deliveries, and a move for Congressional approval to transfer to Thailand U.S. ammunition stored there. The talks Prime Minister Kriangsak had here with some of our major corporations and with President McNamara of the World Bank should help Thailand continue progress in strengthening its economy.
Since the Vietnamese attack on Cambodia, we have moved together with other governments, including your own, to isolate the Vietnamese diplomatically. The 13–2 U.N. vote was dramatic proof of the widespread condemnation felt by the world community toward Hanoi’s aggressive actions.3 Other governments, including yours, have agreed to suspend future bilateral and multilateral economic assistance so long as Vietnamese aggression continues.
We have also stressed the importance of withholding legitimacy from the Vietnamese-installed government in Phnom Penh. So far only 15 governments, all closely associated with the USSR, have recognized Heng Samrin. Since the attitude of the Non-Aligned Movement will be decisive on this point, I am especially pleased to hear of your [Page 864] approaches to India and Sri Lanka. We share your long-term hope for a truly independent, neutral Cambodia with a government representative of its people.
We have taken these actions both to persuade Hanoi to revise its aggressive policies and to provide Peking with an alternative to military attack as a means of applying pressure on Vietnam. Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping left Washington with no doubt in his mind of our desire for restraint and our negative attitude toward Chinese military action against Vietnam. At the same time, the Soviet Union knows that we regard their support for Vietnamese action in Cambodia as a threat to detente. The knowledge that you are also counselling moderation is encouraging to me. We must continue to work together for peace and stability of the region.4
Sincerely,
- Source: Carter Library, National Security Affairs, Staff Material, Far East, Platt Chron Files, Box 66, 2/1–13/79. No classification marking.↩
- See Document 261.↩
- See footnote 5, Document 171.↩
- Underneath his signature, Carter wrote, “Best wishes! J.”↩