AID TO SOUTH ASIA

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26122, 26 May 1950, Page 6

AID TO SOUTH ASIA

COMMONWEALTH MAY SEEK U.S. AID LORD MACDONALD’S VIEWS (New Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, May 25. A hint that the British Commonwealth would have to seek financial assistance from the United States uo implement the scheme for aid for South and South-east Asia was given by Lord Macdonald, of Gwaensgor, the leader of the United Kingdom delegation to the recent Commonwealth Conference in Sydney, and Paymaster-General in the British Government, in an interview this evening. Lord Macdonald arrived from Australia by air this afternoon on a brief goodwill visit to New Zealand. Among those who welcomed him at the Me- ’ chanics’ Bay air base was the New Zealand Minister of External Affairs ■ (Mr F. W. Doidge), the united Kingdom High Commissioner to New Zealand (Sir Roy Price), and Mr H. F. Stevens. United Kingdom Trade Commissioner at Auckland. The visiting ; Minister, who is accompanied by Mr A. G. Chaplin, of the Colonial Office, London, will leave by air on his reI turn to Britain, tfia New York, on Tuesday. The United Kingdom had long been interested in South and South-east Asia and had already given a tremendous amount of financial help to that area, said Lord Macdonald, in explaining Britain’s attitude at the conference. For the development of Malaya alone, the British Government had allocated £125,000.000. of which £50,000,000 had been spent to date. Since the war much of the expenditure had been on military activities, although the bulk of the original sum was intended for economic development and rehabilitation.

“We would prefer to spend the money on economic development, but if the first demand is for military purposes. we have no choice.” he continued. “If the military situation worsens, and we do not expect it to do that, it might compel us to spend less on economic purposes from future allocations. At the conference we looked on the whole area, including both Commonwealth and non-Com-monwealth countries as one big problem. but in some quarters there was a tendency to regard it as a lot of little problems.” He had to tell the conference that the Dominions might overcommit themselves without harming other members, but if the United Kingdom over-reached herself financially, the effect could be disastrous for the rest of the Commonwealth. ‘‘We want the peoples of Asia to submit to us as early as possible an economic pl#n for the development of their own country and to tell us how far they can meet the expenditure involved.” he said. “It can then be decided what we can do to provide the balance. We fear that we will be unable fully to meet that balance, and we may have to go outside the Commonwealth.”

Asked if this would mean calling on the Uniled States, Lord Macdonald replied: “Well, usually it docs. The united States has already shown practical interest in this area?’