P.M. ADDRESSES S.E.A.T.O. TALKS

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31993, 21 May 1969, Page 30

P.M. ADDRESSES S.E.A.T.O. TALKS

(N.Z.P.A. Staff Correspondent)

BANGKOK, May 20.

South-East Asia Treaty Organisation delegates were meeting “as friends and colleagues allied by a common concern to promote security, stability and progress in South-East Asia,” the Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) said in his main address to the S.E.A.T.O. council meeting this morning.

“At times S.E.A.T.O. has concentrated more on security than on other aspects of its work,” he said. “This is understandable enough because it is only in conditions of security and freedom from external aggression that countries can improve their living conditions and satisfy political and cultural aspirations. “Security threats are the most urgent concern. “S.E.A.T.O.’s aims are not static: we are not opposed to change, nor do we seek to maintain the status quo at all costs. But change should be orderly and peaceful. The use of aggression and terrorism to effect change cannot be condoned. “Where aggression goes unchallenged it simply encourages those who believe in violence as a means of achieving their aims. This is essentially the issue in South Vietnam." New Techniques Mr Holyoake said the countries of South-East Asia had demonstrated that they were determined to move forward, to implement new techniques and to provide a better life for their people. “Significant progress is being made in a number of areas. “Through its economic and cultural activities S.E.A.T.O. has played an important part in helping promote progress and increased understanding between member countries," said Mr Holyoake.

“The progress that has been made has been possible only because Governments

have been secure against aggression and the threat of attack.

Charting Future “The conflict in war-torn Vietnam and the search for a stable peace there have implications that go far beyond its borders. “The outcome of the war and the nature of the peace will set the framework within the countries of Asia and the Pacific—and I underline ‘and the Pacific’—will have to chart their future.” Mr Holyoake said that to bring the Paris peace talks to fruition would require “imagination, persistence and vigilance.” “To face the problems of Vietnam and the South-East Asian area will require these same qualities. “The members of our alliance have a continuing responsibility and a continuing challenge in the search for peace and progress in Vietnam and in the South-East Asian and Pacific regions. “I believe we will measure up to those challenges.

j “The New Zealand Governiment will always hold itself ready to play our full part in I 5.E.A.T.0.”