Peking, Nov. 7. China today pledged its “resolute support” for Pakistan in the event of foreign aggression. Mr. Chi Peng-Fei, the acting Foreign Minister, declared: “Our Pakistan friends may rest assured that should Pakistan be subjected to foreign aggression, the Chinese Government and people will as always resolutely support the Pakistan Government and people in their just struggle to defend their state, sovereignty and national independence.” At the same time, he said, the Pakistani people should try to reach a reasonable settlement of the East Pakistan affair. It was an internal question and interference by any foreign country was impermissible, he said.

Mr. Chi was speaking at a state luncheon towards the end of the visit here by Mr. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the West Pakistan political leader. He flew here as President Yahya Khan’s special envoy as the head of a civilian and military delegation. Mr. Chi accused the Indian Government of crude interference in Pakistan’s internal affairs. It had carried out subversive activities and military threats against Pakistan by continuing to exploit the East Pakistan question, he said. “The Chinese Government and people are greatly concerned over the present tension in the subcontinent.” Commending President Yahya Khan’s proposal that Indian and Pakistani armed forces withdraw from their mutual border. Mr. Chi said that it was “helpful to easing tension in the subcontinent and should be received with a welcome.”

At a press conference tonight, Mr. Bhutto said that the results of the delegation’s two days of talks here should be a deterrent to aggression in Asia. Indian threats, he said, had brought about a grave situation which required Pakistan to consult her friends. This was the purpose of his visit to Peking and his talks with Mr. Chou En-lai, the Prime Minister, and other Chinese leaders. Pakistan did not want an armed conflict. “But if India chooses to resolve matters in this fashion, then it will not only be battle of nation against nation, but it will be a house to house conflict and the colour of the Ganges and Indus will change,” he said.

He declined to be drawn into questions on whether the visit had resulted in promises of increased Chinese military aid for Pakistan. “We cannot reveal our hand and tell you what measures we have taken to guarantee our national independence and state sovereignty,” he said. In an apparent oblique reference to the recent visit of a high-level Soviet military delegation to India, Mr. Bhutto said it would be more beneficial for the crisis facing Asian countries to be dealt within Asia. His delegation flies home tomorrow. – Reuters

New Delhi. China has appreciably altered its position on East Pakistan, Indian sources suggested here today after receiving reports of Mr. Chi’s speech. They noted that Mr. Chi had said that the East Pakistan problem should be settled “by the Pakistani people themselves.” This formula, they said, included Peking’s first recognition that an East Pakistan “problem” existed. It marked a shift away from the position outlined by Mr. Chou En-lai in his letter to President Yahya Khan last April, which insisted on the maintenance of Pakistani “sovereignty.”

The city of Calcutta, only 40 miles from the border, carried out a practice air raid blackout for 15 minutes this morning. Defence Ministry sources said that they expect Calcutta would be a first target of the Pakistan Air Force in the event of war. In Delhi civil defence officials have said that trenches are to be dug in some areas and blackout exercises are to be held.
-Agence France Presse, UPI & Reuters

New Delhi, Nov. 7. Unimpeachable Indian military sources said here today that in spite of officials denials Indian troops crossed the border into East Pakistan on Sunday and Monday last week to silence Pakistani guns that were shelling Indian territory. This was the first confirmation that Indian soldiers had operated inside East Pakistan in the current crisis.
- New York Times News Service