Rearmament Plans In West Germany

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28542, 22 March 1958, Page 13

Rearmament Plans In West Germany

LONDON, March 20. cil and a piece of paper.”

The rearming of Western Germany is much in the news. Mr Strauss, the Minister of Defence, recently visited the United States and had discussions ranging over air weapons, aircraft, tanks, armoured cars, Army transport aircraft and destroyers. He announced in Bonn that America, in addition to offering to supply Germany with Matador short-range missiles with conventional warheads also offered to lend five to seven destroyers for five years.

In London it is announced that Mr Duncan Sandys, the Minister of Defence, is to visit Bonn on March 24 and 25 to continue the defence discussions which began last year. It is reported the talks are likely to cover the difficult questions of co-operation in research and the development of what is known as the European arms base.

The Bonn correspondent of “The Times” reports that Mr Strauss, commenting on his American visit, said that the Americans had colossal expectations of German military and technical efficiency and Ideas. They accepted the federal republic as politically reliable and had shown complete frankness on all questions. The Matadors and their launching pads which Germany intended to buy would be useful for training, and also technically for industry, as Germany must try to catch up on technical development

The correspondent says from Mr Strauss’ remarks it can be concluded that West Germany is preparing to produce missiles. While Mr Strauss spoke reassuringly of conventional warheads nobody, least of all West Germany’s Eastern neighbours, will believe rocketry is to be established as a home industry only to carry fire crackers. “Admittedly even the first stage of planning for rocket production is not yet in sight and the Minister said that the Americans expected West Germany to co-oper-ate by contributing new ideas in arms development. “But when Einstein worked out his formula he needed only a pen-

The ‘‘Manchester Guardian” commenting on Mr Sandys’s visit to Bonn says: ‘‘Rapid progress, at least superficially, in co-operation among the Germans, French and Italians is manoeuvring the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Supply into something of the same position as the Board of Trade. Dare Britain go into the European arrangements and dare she stay out?” they ask. ‘‘The Continental determination to go it alone seems to have stemmed in part from the Bermuda conference with its suggestion of a British-American club. If wide co-operation with the Americans is becoming a reality' Mr Sandys can hope to keep his forces equipped with adequate weapons but if it is an illusion he may become ' isolated with the result that British equipment will become slowly obsolescent. The atomic question is at the root of much of the trouble. ‘‘So far as is known no possessor of atomic weapons has yet seen fit to give them to another country and it is only when Britain has advanced as far as she now has that the United States is ready to share a small amount of information. But if N.A.T.O policy and ultimately national policy is that Germany and France must be equipped with atomic weapons Britain and America will have to decide how far they are ready to go in making this easy. Until some of these decisions are made it is difficult to make a coherent case to the Germans. Manufacture Of • Missiles

(Rec. 8 p.m.) LONDON, March 20.

The West German Federal Government has approached the Western European Union to secure an amendment of the 1954 Paris Agreements with a view to permitting it to manufacture anti-tank missiles, an authoritative source said today. The source said that the West German appeal would come up soon in the union’s council in London.