Diplomatic Ripples

All kinds of diplomatic ripples have been set in motion by Richard Nixon's Peking visit. One such wavelet has brought North Viet Nam closer to Japan. First, two Japanese foreign ministry officials were invited to Hanoi for "exploratory talks" on improving relations; currently, a 14-member North Vietnamese trade delegation is making a month-long inspection of Japanese industry. The climax of the tour is expected to be an agreement to increase trade between the two nations, now a paltry $14 million a year.

The North Vietnamese are obviously eager to display their independence from Peking by courting the Japanese, who are regarded by the Chinese as capitalist imperialists. Hanoi had proposed that a political delegation be sent, headed by a deputy premier. Tokyo demurred, partly because it still recognizes Saigon as the legitimate government of Viet Nam, and also because it is reluctant to provoke Washington's wrath. Thus came the trade delegation, which will meet with Japanese political leaders, as well as with industrial tycoons. It is officially headed by the chief of the North Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce, Dang Thi. As it happens, though, he is also the principal aide to North Vietnamese Premier Pham Van Dong.

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