 Laking supported New Zealand involvement in Vietnam, and was under pressure from the US Government for New Zealand to send combat troops to the conflict.McIntosh was less supportive of the idea, but Defence Chiefs in Wellington, with the notable exception of Defence Secretary Jack Hunn, and politicians unwilling to offend US interests, supported the move.In 1967, Laking returned to Wellington where he succeeded McIntosh in the posts of Secretary of Foreign Affairs and as head of the Prime Minister's Department.