SOUTH-EAST ASIA

Press, Volume LXXXIIi, Issue 25189, 21 May 1947, Page 6

SOUTH-EAST ASIA

“ACTIVE INTEREST” BY N.Z.

LORD KILLEARN GIVES OPINION

New Zealand and Australia must interest themselves in the South-east Asia region,- not only for security reasons but also because of the future dependence of the region on products from the two Dominions to the south, said Lord Killearn, British Special Commissioner in South-east Asia, interviewed in Christchurch yesterday. “I think more and more that it is clear that New Zealand and Australia must have an active interest in how things are in South-east Asia. It stands out at arm’s length,” said Lord Killearn. He saw the growing interdependence of the countries in this region as part of the process of “world rehabilitation,” and spoke of Malaya as the focus of interests in the region. “I think anyone who has lived in Malaya becomes conscious of how dependent that area has been on the south,” he said.

“I don’t think the people at Home have a real appreciation of how important South-east Asia is going to be/’ said Lord Killearn. “Europe remains vitally important, but it is not the only area, and I don’t believe oun people at Home grasp how vitally important this vast area of Asia is.”

The lesson in his mind, after a year spent in Malaya on his special mission, mainly concerned with food, was “what a dominant role New Zealand and Australia should play in this area.”

He was anxious to avoid any suggestion of a “bloc.” New Zealand’s role in South-east Asia was for New Zealand to determine, still as a member of the British Commonwealth; it would be a “regional contribution.” Such contributions within South-east Asia were a matter of self-preserva-tion, “and I would go so far as to say, self-preservation for New Zealand too.”

Holiday in New Zealand Three weeks’ fishing at Taupo, till the closing of the season put an end to Lord Killearn’s favourite sport, began his two months’ holiday in New Zealand. With Lady Killearn, he came to the South Island, first spending a few days on a high-country farm near Blenheim. From Christchurch they go to-day to Mount Cook, then to Queenstown, Dunedin, the West Coast, x4elson, Wellington, and back to Auckland, where they will be the guests of the Governor-General (Sir Bernard Freyberg) till their departure. Both Lord and Lady Killearn were full of admiration for New Zealand and New Zealanders. Lord Killearn said he had long wished to visit the Dominion. He had learned the qualities of New Zealanders during his term as British Ambassador to Egypt (he was formerly Sir Miles Lampson), and was present when the first troops of the 2nd N.Z.E.F. were welcomed in Egypt. “They say what they mean,” he said. As for the country itself, it had exceeded anything he had been led to expect in its beauty and its appearance of wellbeing and prosperity.