Sihanouk Speaks

For nearly a month Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the deposed Cambodian head of state, had been visiting North Viet Nam for a series of strategy conferences. Last week he stopped off in Shanghai on his way back to Peking, his residence in exile since 1970. There, in the guesthouse that Richard Nixon had occupied two weeks earlier, Sihanouk granted an interview to TIME Correspondent Jerrold Schecter. "You can write," said the Prince, as he offered Schecter hors d'oeuvres of duck and roast pork with his chopsticks, "that you were served by a royal, anti-imperialistic head of state." His chief points:

ON CHINA AND VIET NAM. Sihanouk disclosed that Chinese Premier Chou En-lai had briefed him, as well as North Vietnamese leaders, on the Nixon visit. Chou reassured Sihanouk and the Vietnamese that no secret deals had been made in Peking, and added that he had told Nixon that the Chinese had not been appointed by Hanoi to settle the war. At one point, Chou cited to Nixon the example of the French withdrawal from Algeria, noting that France increased its international prestige as a result. The Premier told Sihanouk that "no progress" toward a peace agreement had been made at the talks.

ON THE NIXON VISIT. Chou told Sihanouk that "President Nixon made good propaganda for his re-election and good propaganda for China. China must do her best to make the conception of the 'yellow peril' fade away. One of the reasons why China opens her doors is to let the Americans see there is no peril."

ON THE WAR. Sihanouk and the North Vietnamese agreed that "the only way for us to obtain peace is to continue the offensive in order to persuade Nixon to give us genuine peace with total respect for our rights to self-determination. Nixon's peace proposal means that the Viet Cong must put down their weapons and go to the elections naked, while [South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van] Thieu will have his army and his police to pressure the people of South Viet Nam." The North Vietnamese, Sihanouk emphasized, link the end of Vietnamization and of U.S. support for Thieu with any settlement. A withdrawal of U.S. troops in return for an exchange of prisoners is not acceptable to Hanoi so long as the U.S. continues to support Thieu.

ON RUSSIA v. CHINA. "The shaking of hands by Chou Enlai, Mao Tse-tung and Nixon is a result of Chinese-Russian antagonism. China is trying to isolate its No. 1 enemy, Russia. The U.S. is the No. 2 enemy. For Russia, China is the No. 1 enemy and the U.S. is No. 2. The Russians hate me. It seems that my only sin is to be too strongly supported by China."

ON CHINA'S ROLE IN ASIA. "We prefer a three-power game rather than a two-power game in Asia. The game between the U.S. and Russia is a bit dangerous. Now, with a third player, the game is fair. There are no Chinese soldiers outside China and no Chinese foreign bases. If the U.S. and Russia do the same, there is no problem."

ON CAMBODIA'S FUTURE. "I have only two choices: to be a puppet of the U.S.A. or to have a Communist Cambodia--Communist but independent. There are independent Communist states. Inside they are Communist, but outside they are independent. Perhaps [North Vietnamese Premier] Pham Van Dong will make a good partner, as Tito does, for America."

ON THE COMMUNIST TROOPS IN CAMBODIA. "They are independent. In the past I believed they were puppets; now I have observed them, and it seems they are very independent-minded from the Chinese and the North Vietnamese. They unite with me now because it is in their interest. After the liberation they may not need me. My personal future does not count. What counts is for my country to be free and independent."

ON HIS OWN GOALS. "We have no complicated demands. We want peace, good food and love. How can we do that without freedom? After making peace, we want to make love."

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