Quayle Tells Alaskans U.S. Government Will Complete Cleanup if Exxon Doesn’t

ELMENDORF AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska —  Fulfilling one of the duties of a vice president--going where the President does not want to go--Dan Quayle arrived here Monday en route to a 10-day tour of the Far East.

White House officials had planned to have President Bush go to Alaska this week to meet with local officials and inspect the results of Exxon Corp.’s cleanup of the massive Valdez oil spill. But Bush aides feared that a visit now, just a few days after Exxon halted its uncompleted cleanup for the winter, would be politically risky for the President, so they canceled the trip and pressed Quayle into service instead.

Accompanying Quayle are his wife, Transportation Secretary Samuel K. Skinner and Coast Guard Commandant Paul Yost.

Discusses Fishing Issues

The vice president met with local officials to discuss the cleanup, then with fishing industry representatives interested in a new fishing agreement recently negotiated by the United States, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Quayle, who had visited here four months ago, said after his meetings: “The oil spill has not been cleaned up. We are committed to making sure the cleanup takes place.”

When asked if that meant the federal government would take over the job if Exxon did not resume the cleanup after the winter, the vice president said: “Yes . . . we will stay until the job is completed.”

Quayle said that he now has a much better understanding of the environmental damage caused by the large drift nets used by Asian fishermen. He said that one of the goals of his trip would be to press the Koreans to sign the fishing agreement, which curbs use of such nets. It already has been signed by Japan.

The brief interlude of environmental issues contrasts with the bulk of Quayle’s trip, which, the vice president told members of the foreign press corps at a Washington briefing last week, will concentrate on “collective security.”

Quayle will visit Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Malaysia before returning to Washington a week from Friday.

White House aides have sought to use foreign travel to rehabilitate Quayle’s political image, which was badly battered during last fall’s political campaign. The current trip has been designed to capitalize on Quayle’s personal interest in issues of defense and space exploration.

The trip is Quayle’s fourth foreign mission and the second to Asia since he took office.

So far, the political rehabilitation plan appears to be having mixed success. Polls, including a recent one conducted by the Washington Post, show the public giving Quayle broad approval for his performance as vice president but continuing to doubt that he is qualified to be President, a result that Quayle insists does not disturb him.

On the current trip, Quayle is scheduled to arrive first in Korea, where he will meet with Korean President Roh Tae Woo but also with opposition leaders, including Kim Dae Jung, whom the government has indicted on charges of indirectly receiving money from North Korea. Kim has vehemently denied the charges.

After Korea, Quayle will travel to Tokyo to begin a five-day tour of Japan. He plans to visit Japanese space facilities and discuss expanded U.S.-Japanese cooperation in space exploration. Bush has assigned Quayle to head the National Space Council, an intergovernmental panel designed to coordinate U.S. space activities.

Will Visit Philippines

Quayle will travel from Japan to the Philippines, where the continued presence of U.S. military bases probably will dominate discussions.

The bases are likely to be the major topic on Quayle’s final stop--in Malaysia. Last month, the government of the neighboring island of Singapore suggested that it would be willing to accept U.S. naval facilities should the Philippines insist on closing the massive Subic Bay installation.

The Malaysian government, which has had tense relations with Singapore in the past, reacted strongly against that idea.