MOTIVES AT BANDUNG

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27637, 19 April 1955, Page 13

MOTIVES AT BANDUNG

“Golden Chance For China”

(Rec. 9 p.m.) LONDON, April 18. The Bandung Conference was Peking’s “golden opportunity,” the “Manchester Guardian” said today. It described the conference as "a novelty in international meetings,’’ with countries taking part in it showing a wide variety of motives. “Indonesia, which convened the conference, desired by means of it to increase its prestige, shakened by its worsening internal conditions,” said the newspaper. ‘‘Japan hopes to pick up trade in South-east Asia, and perhaps also, resenting America’s snub to Mr Shigemitsu, to converse informally with China.

“Ceylon is going to propose a reform of the United Nations Charter. “All the countries want to make their mark in some way, so that they may not be thought to be lightweights in international relations. “But, inevitably, two of the actors will interest especially the outside world—Mr Chou En-lai and Mr Nehru. “Obviously the aim of Peking will be to convince the Asian countries that the threat of war comes from the West. It may hope to secure from them an anti-Western manifesto.

“The interest at Bandung may be to see whether Mr Nehru, by taking the Chinese at their peaceful words, can steer them willy-nilly into peaceful courses.”

The “Manchester Guardian” said that the Chinese can count on Mr Nehru being half in agreement with their interpretation of the present political scene even though his longterm aims and theirs are widely apart. “There may even be the spectacle of an apparent unity between India and Communist China.

“For the Western countries the capital fact about the conference is that Communist China is being brought into parley by Asian leaders who are men of goodwill, who are not Communists, and who are not easy dupes, even if they incline towards neutralism.

“As a result of the conference the area of parley can be enlarged. “Bandung will have been an important meeting however chaotic its proceedings may appear and however unfair some of the things which will certainly be said.”