Defence Plans 'Not Halted’

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31380, 27 May 1967, Page 1

Defence Plans ' Not Halted’

/N.Z. Preu Association) WELLINGTON, May 26. The 1966 Defence White Paper remained the blueprint for the development of the armed forces, in spite of some deferments in placing orders for capital equipment because of the economi situation, the Minister of Defence (Mr Thomson) said today.

“The strategic considerations on which the defence review was written are still valid,” Mr Thomson said. “But it stands to reason that the response which we can make must be geared to the resources which we can set aside for defence in any particular phase of our national development" The Minister was addressing the Wellington division of the National Party. There was a constant reequipment programme which, in New Zealand’s present straitened circumstances,

had to be slowed down—not stopped, he said. -Maintaining the armed forces required will call for sacrifices from us all. We cannot escape tins any more than any other nation. We must maintain sufficient forces with the necessary equipment to meet our commitments under the collective defence pacts on which we rely for the defence of New Zealand itself.” The Minister said the country’s defence policy was based on the belief that the New Zealand people, while supporting international efforts to-r->rds disarmament and the settlement of outstanding East-West differences by negotiation wherever possible, would continue to reject “neutralism” or “isolationism” as an acceptable basis of na. ! tional policy. Mr Thomson said that from ' early times New Zealand had , striven to uphold what it be- , lieved to be right and to oppose—at times of great sacrifice— -hit it believed to be wrong. > Collective defence meant that New Zealand would join . with like-minded nations to: , Preserve the security of New t Zealand and its island ter- , ritories;

Help maintain the ecurlty of New Zealand’s allies and other friendly countries; Provide the natural backing to the country's political efforts to preserve peace; Establish a claim on New Zealand’s major allies for protection in time of need. For collective defence it was essential that New Zealand be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to contribute its appropriate degree of national defence effort, its willingness and its ability to assist its allies in matters affecting their national interests. The distinction between a time <rf peace and a time of war had disappeared. The terms “hot” or “cold” war

were no longer adequate. He believed that “partial war” was the type of conflict New Zealand faced now and would continue to face for a very long time. Mr Thomson said the success of collective defence was best demonstrated by the way confrontation of Malaysia by Indonesia was contained. The need for flexibility placed an increased emphasis on the regular elements in all three services, he said.

“We need to be able to meet all potential threats not by a retreat into fortress Aotearoa, but by going out to deter, and if necessary to meet, these threats in company with staunch allies to whom we have bound ourselves by solemn agreement," he said.