Australia Could Be Drawn Into Fighting

Press, Volume C, Issue 29702, 21 December 1961, Page 15

Australia Could Be Drawn Into Fighting

IN.Z. Press Assn.—Copyright) vpw YORK Dee 20 ADV limit, Dec. ZU. Australia might be _ . , , drawn into the tightlr>rt if Inrlnnoein inmg it Indonesia mvaded Dutch West New Guinea the ACW uumea, me “New York Times” said in an editorial said in an editorial today. _ The newspaper said: “There will be general relief that President Soekarno did not order a full-scale invasion of Dutch New Guinea in his speech yesterday at an Indonesian anniversary celebrati on ..' . .. “A war over West New Guinea would be a much more serious affair even than India s thrust intq Goa Milltary operations would be of a much larger scope, and the possibility that other nations besides the Netherlands and Indonesia, notably Australia. might become involved in the fighting would be far greater. “The gap between the Dutch and Indonesians is still exceedingly wide, since the Dutch (and Papuans) are strongly committed to selfdetermination, while the Indonesians claim the West Papuans are Indonesian. “But something might come out of a direct confrontation that would avoid hostilities and a new world crisis.” The “New York Herald Tribune” said in an editorial: "Taking his cue from Mr

Nehru’s invasion of Goa, President Soekarno of Indonesia is threatening to throw his s aad P lanea Western New Guinea in earnest. “New Guinea has been his most useful method of dis . tracting public attention from what is wr °ng at home. Noone expected him t 0 do more tha.i talk, and certainly the idea of a seaborne invasion of an enormous and jnhospitable island across 600 miles of water clearly came under 1 the familiar heading of bluff. „ B m months In . donesia h received large quantities of arms from the soviet Union, including modaircraft . ~ Mr Soekarno may believe he is ready to attack the Du t eh , not with the aim of defeating them, but in order to establish a beachhead on the New Guinea coast from w . hich he can summon to his aid all such as wou ld help him-Communist China, for i n<s f anrp »• _, ’ _ . . _ o «... Washington Post sa J~ : Some hope remains for settlement ol tha dls P ° ver Netherlands New Guinea without bloodshed. "In ordering a ‘total mobilisation’ of the Indonesian people and commanding them to raise their flag over the controversial territory, President Soekarno went about as far as he could without ordering an actual invasion. “But the fact that he did not take advantage of India’s example to launch an immediate military operation is

significant In the face of the mounting crisis the Netherlands Government has announced its willingness to negotiate, and there are even hints from Indonesian sources that the United States might mediate the dispute. “In spite of the encouragement that the Indonesians have had from India’s invasion of Goa, Daman, and Diu, the two controversies have no close similarity. “Cheating” Belief "President Soekarno is threatening to move against West New Guinea (or West Irian, as the Indonesians call it) because he believes that the Dutch cheated when they withheld this portion of their colonial possession in the area upon the recognition. of Indonesia’s independence. “The Dutch, for their part, have offered to relinquish sovereignty and administration of the territory to the United Nations, but are not willing to see it go to Indonesia without consent of the native population. “The positions of the two Governments are not, therefore, irreconcilable. “On the contrary, the dispute is precisely the kind that should yield to peaceful mediation and settlement.”