South Africa seeks link with N.A.T.O. defences

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33128, 19 January 1973, Page 4

South Africa seeks link with N.A.T.O. defences

(By

TONY VAN DER WATT)

PRETORIA.

South Africans of all shades of opinion have long been aware that their country is a difficult one for other Western countries to be seen to co-operate with in the military field.

Yet, in the interests of their own security, which is threatened mildly by Black Africa and to a considerably greater degree by Communist global strategic manoeuvring, they have never ceased to urge the Western alliance to recognise that its own security (forget that of South Africa) lies in helping the South Africans to protect their coastline and, by implication, its hinterland.

At last, now, Pretoria is beginning to see some results of its patient lobbying down the years, with the news last month that powerful quarters in N.A.T.O. are urging the extension of N.A.T.O. activities beyond the Tropic of Cancer.

These quarters see this arbitrarily-drawn perimeter [as unrealistic, in view of the I fact, that enough of the ; West’s oil comes round the Cape to cripple at least Western Europe if the Cape [were to fal’ into hostile hands. They say that South Africa should accordingly be included fully in any reckoning of Western defence. The unpopularity with which such a move would be viewed in Africa and the rest of the Third World, and the political capital which Communist countries would make of it —both serious risks to I the West —would be a lesser setback to the West, than any threat to the Cape oil route would pose, they argue. In the past, proponents of this view have been lone voices crying in the wilderness—retired Dutch admirals, lone British politicians, rare German writers, and other such strategic thinkers. The South Africans have actively cultivated these opinionmaking friends, and have left few stones unturned over the last 20 years to urge their views on other, more influential Western sectors.

A vast quantity of documentation has been built up on the subject in a number of Western capitals, and attention given to it at seminars and other talks around the world.

The type of points of which the South Africans would privately have been reminding the West’s leaders, and urging its thinkers and strategists to consider, were set out recently by Admiral H. H. Biermann, South Africa’s defence chief, in a paper to a symposium at Potchefstroom (Transvaal) on South Africa’s political and military-strategic role.

Reason for alarm He pointed to the Communist encirclement of Europe, with Red bases established in the Middle East and Mediterranean area, the closure of the Suez Canal, which meant that Europe’s oil supply depended on the Cape route —and the not-unconnec-ted Communist aid to African terrorist groups now seeking to attack white-ruled Southern Africa, which safeguards that oil route. This Red aid, using (and misusing) as it does legita-

mate African grievances, has made it difficult for the West to oppose—or at least be seen to oppose—the Communist offensive in Africa. Any such move by the West would be interpreted by the Third World as support for racialism.

Now, however, with Russian and Chinese penetration of the waters around Africa and their establishment of bridgeheads on the continent itself, the West has growing reason for alarm. Admiral Biermann outlined the activities concerned. As well as the closure of the Suez Canal and their maintenance of 40 to 90 warships in the Mediterranean, the Russians nave maintained a “fishing” fleet on the West coast of Southern Africa, established a permanent maritime force in the Guinea area, and established naval calling points in Guinea. Senegal, Nigeria, the Congo (Brazzaville) and Zaire, formerly the Congo (Kinshasha).

Chinese penetration

East of Africa, and concerning Australia and. New Zealand as well as oilhungry Europe and South Africa, there is the Russian establishment of calling points at Mauritius, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Mogadishu, to support their growing activity in the area, establishment of anchorages in the Seychelles area, near strategic Diego Garcia, and conclusion of a fishery and aircraft landing agreement with Mauritius. There are now also rumours that the Russians are building a naval and military installation on Socotra.

The Chinese are building a naval base at Dar es Salaam, are penerating Tanzania and Zambia with economic aid which can easily be used to further a military attack on the white South (the TanZam railroad), and. of course, they are actively arming and aiding the African terrorist onslaughts against the white South. Their goal is, always, : South Africa—and. say 'N.A.T.O. strategists now, as ; South Africa has long warned, the clear-cut objective is control of the only practical alternative oil route to Europe if the fragile Suez route were to be re-j opened and then closed again in war-time. South Africa claims it should be able to count on the help of the Western alliance in protecting the Cape route — the help of Europe, because it needs the oil to survive, of the Americas, because they need a free Europe, and Australia and New Zealand, because they could not long survive as free nations in a generally Communist-dominated world. However, Admiral Biermann expressed a doubt here. Although Australia and New Zealand, he said, were stable and unambiguously ■ pro-West, they had strong I Leftist movements which | watered down their general l anti-communism.

South African political opposition leaders support the Government in its antiCommunist action (though they criticise some of the means it uses), on the grounds that any progress it (the opposition) makes towards improving the lot of the Africans would not be prompted by hostilities. Most African leaders within South Africa also agree (quite genuinely!) with this view.

What is now causing some satisfaction in South Africa, is the fact that N.A.T.O.’s Parliamentary Assembly recently heard, from a numbei of influential quarters, that Europe’s interests would be greatly enhanced by N.A.T.O.’s extending at least its communications lines to the Cape, in time of peace, in preparation for anj emergency. Progress seen Almost as though to highlight the danger, a submarine (definitely not South African and probably not Western) was sighted off South: [Africa’s east coast shortly lafter the N.A.T.O. meeting. | by a number of private [people on the shore—and iwas later sought by a

Shackleton aircraft of South Africa’s coastal command Ii was right within the route of Europe's oil tankers. There is still some way to go before N.A.T.O. officially adopts the advice of those groups urging links with South Africa, and the South Africans have experienced enough setbacks in the past [not to start counting their chickens before they are hatched But they have also, through the years. experienced enough opposition to their warnings, and even to their very presence, to recognise progress when they see it. You can’t win ’em all. they say—but you also can’t lose every round if you persevere hard enough. They speak from experience in a number (of other important spheres.