Statement on the President's Visit to Thailand.

IN RETURNING once again to Thailand, I am deeply conscious of the fact that Thailand has a special interest in the strength of America's determination to honor its commitments in Asia and the Pacific. We will honor those commitments--not only because we consider them solemn obligations, but equally importantly because we fully recognize that we and the nations of Southeast Asia share a vital stake in the future peace and prosperity of this region.

Both geography and common interest link the United States with the nations of Southeast Asia. We recognize the Pacific Ocean not as a barrier, but as a bridge. We recognize also that whether peace can be maintained in Asia and the Pacific will determine whether peace can be maintained in the world, and we recognize here in Asia the beginnings of patterns of dynamic development that can be of enormous significance.

Our determination to honor our commitments is fully consistent with our conviction that the nations of Asia can and must increasingly shoulder the responsibility for achieving peace and progress in the area. The challenge to our wisdom is to support the Asian countries' efforts to defend and develop themselves, without attempting to take from them the responsibilities which should be theirs. For if domination by the aggressor can destroy the freedom of a nation, too much dependence on a protector can eventually erode its dignity.

What we seek for Asia is a community of free nations able to go their own way and seek their own destiny with whatever cooperation we can provide--a community of independent Asian countries each maintaining its own traditions and yet each developing through mutual cooperation. In such an arrangement, we stand ready to play a responsible role in accordance with our commitments and basic interests.

Seven centuries ago the great Thai King Rama Kamheng, father of the Thai alphabet, had his belief inscribed in the new written language: "In the water there are fish; in the fields there is rice... Whoever wants to trade in elephants so trades. Whoever wants to trade in horses so trades; whoever wants to trade in silver and gold so trades."

These words expressed the philosophy that a nation, like a man, should be free to seek its own destiny. In Korea, and again in Vietnam, Thailand has been in the forefront of those nations actively engaged in protecting this principle. The Thai contribution to the struggle to preserve the independence of South Vietnam has been of great significance--as befits a nation that places so high a value on its own long history of independence. As a nation which has shared so generously in the burdens of war, Thailand has a special interest in the strategy for achieving a durable peace--that is, one which guarantees to the people of South Vietnam the right to determine their own future without outside coercion. In developing this policy, the government of Thailand has been fully consulted, and will continue to be so in the future.

I believe that the greatest problem before us is not the war in Vietnam, but the bringing about of a dynamic set of international relationships which guarantee peace and progress. This cannot be done by the United States alone. It must be a cooperative effort. We must contribute to relationships by which the peoples of the area can master their challenges and shape their future.

Thailand is one of the foremost examples of the promise that the future holds in Asia--in terms of its economic development, its commitment to advancing the welfare of its people, and its larger view of new patterns of regional cooperation that can benefit all the nations and peoples of Asia. We are proud to consider Thailand our friend.

In this spirit, I see the vision of King Rama coming true not only for Thailand, but for all of Asia.