Word: mekong
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
South Vietnam has 1000 miles of seacoast, most of it so indented that only local fisherman know it with any degree of intimacy. This 1000 miles does not include the inland waterway navigable by sampans, which in the case of the Mekong Delta alone in 4700 miles. The South Vietnamese Navy's Junk Patrol, primarily responsible for preventing infiltration by sea, has 500 boats. Since 40 per cent of any fleet is tied up in ports for repairs, re-provisioning, liberty, training, etc., the Junk Patrol would have about 300 boats to patrol more than 6000 miles of coast...
...were regional and religious. Premier Phan Huy Quat precipitated a squabble with South Viet Nam's wispy Chief of State, Phan Khac Suu, by announcing his long-delayed Cabinet reshuffle. Quat replaced the Ministers of Interior and Economy with "northerners," and Suu, who was born in the southern Mekong Delta region, refused to accept the switch...
...enough equipment to supply an entire infantry brigade has been stored against the day when that many U.S. troops might arrive on the scene. At the same time, Thailand has set up "Special Operations Centers" from which elite Thai army units, modeled on the U.S. Special Forces, patrol the Mekong borders, gather intelligence, and help the tribesmen of the region...
Steps Toward Progress. Though the northeast gets less rain than Thailand's lush central plain-the nation's rice bowl, much coveted by Red China-it is bordered by the Mekong and riven by countless streams. The scope for new dams, canals, wells and reservoirs is enormous, and government teams have already built scores of minor waterworks. Still, only 4,000 of the 14,000 villages have enough drinking and irrigation water at hand. Many have to cart water in by ox team from miles away. And the Communists do not hesitate to make political capital from technical...
...where rural development work has not begun are asking local officials when their turn will come. Indeed, when the Interior Minister, General Prapas Charussatira, visited the town of Nongkhai to initiate an aid program, he was welcomed as a bearer of good omens. On the day of his arrival, Mekong fishermen netted a 5-ft., 200-lb. catfish -a rare catch and the first of the year. It was served-cooked-at a welcoming banquet...