Growing Fear of Nuclear Confrontation

Fear of nuclear confrontation was apparently less in 1971 than it is now.

In the words of Asia Times reporter Debasish Roy Chowdhury, Nixon to put India in a spot, even went to the extent of pleading with the Chinese to initiate troop movements toward the Indian border in coordination with Pakistan, and assured it support in case the Soviet Union jumped into the fray. Near the end of the war, in a highly secret meeting on December 10, 1971, Kissinger pitched the idea to Chinese ambassador to the UN, Huang Ha. The declassified documents reveal that China took a couple of days to think about it and finally said it was not game, much to Kissinger's disappointment. -- from here

Also worth looking at - releases from the National Archives.