U.K. Withdrawal Not “Beginning Of End”

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31579, 17 January 1968, Page 26

U.K. Withdrawal Not “Beginning Of End”

(New Zealand Frees Association)

WELLINGTON, January 16. Fears that Britain’s military withdrawal from Asia will herald “the beginning of the end” of the eight-nation South-East Asia Treaty Organisation are discounted in New Zealand Government circles.

Officials admit that the collective defence treaty is hardly in lusty shape, but they point out that it is still the only effective security arrangement in Asia.

“If S.E.A.T.O. has not quite fulfilled the high hopes everybody held for it,” one Government spokesman said today, “there are pretty strong incentives to keep it going.” The annual conferences in New Zealand of the S.E.A.T.O. Ministerial Council and Its military advisers, between March 28 and April 4, are expected to b* the most vital

since the organisation was formed in 1954. Dominating th* high-level talks will be Britain’s accelerated military withdrawal and the consequent effect on th* S.E.A.T.O. military defence structure. MAJOR IMPACT The British run-down is bound to have a major impact on the future shape of S.E.A.T.O. because it will leave only the United States as “military underwriter” to the organisation, and the United States is already hard-pressed by the Vietnam war. S.E.A.T.O. is the only security pact which brings the United States into th* Asian theatre militarily. Six of th* eight membernations of the organisation— Britain, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand—are certain to attend the conferences in Wellington. Doubtful starters are France and Pakistan. France, which is opposed to S.E.A.T.O. policy in Vietnam, was not represented at last year’s conference in Washington and has not yet announced whether it will be represented, even in an observer capacity, at this year’s Ministerial council meeting. Pakistan may send a delegation, as it did to Washington, but no notification of such intention has yet been received at S.E.A.T.O. headquarters in Bangkok. South Vietnam is expected

to send observers to Wellington. The S.E.A.T.O. conferences will be held in the Chamber of the House of Representatives, and this will be the second time that New Zealand has acted as host to such meetings since the organisation was formed. The first conference here was in 1958. S.E.A.T.O.’* military advisers will meet between March 28 and 30 and the Ministerial Council conferences will be held between April 1 and 4. It is possible that the United States will be represented at the council meetings by the Secretary of State (Mr Dean Rusk) and that Britain will be represented by Its Foreign Secretary (Mr George Brown). Meanwhile, New Zealand officials co-opted on to the S.E.A.T.O. secretariat have already started work on arrangements for the meetings. Five committee rooms in Parliament Buildings have been set aside, and seven New Zealand government and military officials form the current “skeleton" staff. One of Bellamy’s bars in the building has been requisitioned for the S.E.A.T.O. secretariat. Three senior New Zealand officers, one from each of the armed forces, will hold a key appointment during the military advisers' meeting. They are Colonel K. G. Miles, conference co-ordina-tor; Wing Commander J. B. Wilson, assistant coordinator, and Commander N. D. Anderson, conference secretary.