Speaking at a press conference at Saigon Airport prior to his departure for Tokyo on Tuesday (July 7), U.S. Secretary of State William P. Rogers said that casualty rates of US forces had declined considerably.

Mr Rogers had been attending a two-day meeting of South Vietnam's war allies, and had visited the Mekong delta province of Ba Xuyen, formerly a Viet Cong stronghold.

During his press conference, the Secretary of State said that it was encouraging to find that about 90 per cent of the country was now secure and that elections have been held in about 90 per cent of the villages and hamlets.

The decline in U.S. casualty rates for the past week, he said, indicated that President Nixon's decision to enter Cambodia had been justified, for although the casualty rates might have been increased during the Cambodian operations, there was evidence to show they would be greatly reduced in the long run.

Speaking at the press conference, Secretary of State Rogers said: