TOKYO — "There is a philosophy that if the Vietnamese have a bowl of rice to eat, they won’t be communists.

"That’s true to a certain extent, but they want more ... From the village chiefs to country teachers comes the same question: ’When will we have security?’ "

Richard M. Nixon, former vice president of the United States, leaned forward and continued:

"Our military plays an essential part in providing this security. ’The services rate extremely high in Vietnam. The men are all glad to be there ... their morale is excellent."

A hush fell over his suite at the Imperial Hotel as he thought of the Southeast Asia situation before continuing on with his off-the-cuff remarks.

He said security for the Vietnamese is a fleeting thing; it rises when such people as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara says the U.S. is in the war to stay; it falls when leaders across the world urge the country be neutralized.

Nixon smiled when speaking of the military. "Everywhere I went in Vietnam I found morale excellent. And the Vietnamese like the U.S. military men."

Nixon had only hours until his flight home — ending a 24-day Asian business trip for his law firm in New York. He had only a few minutes for Pacific Stars and Stripes — the interview crammed into a busy schedule.

"The American serviceman in Vietnam senses that he is on a battle front ... he is playing an important part in the fight for freedom."