The Vice Presidency: At Home and Abroad

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Spiro Agnew, one of Richard Nixon's most salable commodities, is temporarily being exported to Asia this week in a model rarely seen domestically. It will be a diplomatic Agnew, entrusted with the task of soothing four allies that are apprehensive about the slow but continuing withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Far East. The message is that U.S. interest will not diminish with its force level.

After a conference with the President and Secretary of State William Rogers, Agnew got a San Clemente send-off Saturday for his eight-day hand-holding trip. His itinerary:

— South Viet Nam: Clearly the most important, if not the trickiest stop Agnew will make, it is intended to reinforce Nixon's pledge to the Thieu government and also to provide Nixon with a fresh assessment of the progress of Vietnamization since the Cambodian invasion.

— Thailand: With the Administration eager to get Thai troops involved in the defense of Cambodia, and the Thais displaying no haste to do so, Agnew will have a job on his hands to dispel doubts about Nixon's intentions. "They get nervous whenever somebody on the Hill says something disparaging, although it isn't the Administration that's speaking," a White House aide said.

— South Korea: The Seoul government has already received the bad news—the withdrawal of 20,000 of the 60,000 American troops there. Agnew will repeat the Nixon position: that the remaining force is a "quite credible deterrent."

— Taiwan: Unless Agnew is bearing a secret message from the President, the stop here looks like a courtesy call on a steadfast ally.

The Vice President's second trip to Asia occurred against a backdrop of some further domestic arguments about U.S. Indochina policy. It was disclosed last week that the Administration had quietly concluded an agreement to give Cambodia an additional $40 million worth of military equipment, on top of an $8.9 million earlier commitment. The antiwar faction in the Senate was angry but powerless to act, because the Administration can use funds already appropriated. In Cambodia itself, Communist forces ranged within a few miles of Phnom-Penh, but U.S. analysts believe that the enemy was not preparing to attack the Cambodian capital. South Vietnamese units, meanwhile, continued their operations aimed at securing strategic points.

In a rare show of unanimity that united William Fulbright and Barry Goldwater, however, the Senate voted to bar U.S. funding of foreign expeditionary forces that might be sent into Cambodia or Laos. The Administration opposes the restriction. Even if the measure survives a House-Senate conference, which is uncertain, it would not affect limited border operations. But it would cover large-scale incursions by Thais and South Vietnamese troops, unless Bangkok and Saigon want to pay their own way, and it could well complicate Agnew's mission.