SECURITY OF DOMINION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1944, Page 6

SECURITY OF DOMINION

"-HER PRIMARY INTERESTS

The primary interests of New Zealand lay in the Pacific. New Zealand must become Pacificminded; that was the necessary psychological basis for a realistic programme of external relations, "said Professor Leslie Lipson, Victoria University College, in an address this afternoon to the New Zealand Institute of Public Administration. New Zealand's chief attention should be devoted to the region of the world of which it '■was geographically a part, and ■. public opinion.must become aware of the strategic axiom that only i-a Power located within the Pacific could directly menace this coun-

• try. ' ■ •■'. ; ■" : . •' The foreign'policy of every country ■aimed at two fundamental objectives, •safety and prosperity, he continued. These were both important, yet not equally so, and they might conflict with each other. Security from aggression depended very largely upon geography, those nearest being in the best position to cause harm. It might not ,be necessary to have relations ■with a far distant State, but a neighbour could not be ignored. Economic prosperity, however, might depend only slightly on ones neighbours. A nation wished to be both safe and prosperous, but which objective took precedence? He maintained that, if there had to be choice of subordinating prosperity, to security from attack, the ..first aim was to retain possession of these islands. The need to exist over-rode the wish to exist in comfort. : , In the future, as a small country ■which desperately needed protection, New Zealand would have to participate in whatever international organisation was established. The Dominion's chance of peace and prosperity, as that of all nations, depended on whether the "Big Four" remained genuinely united after the war. If they did, the prospects of + peace were rosy; if they did not, a third w.orld •war was certain. ;:' ' . , , The pair of great Powers, which we imituallr liiiked. by the closest associations were the U.S.A and Britain. These were the very Powers on whom New Zealand's safety hinged and New Zealand must follow their lead in any international body andmust also specially participate in any regional plan to ensure the collective security of the Pacific. RELATIONS WITH AMERICA. Britain would continue , after the war to be one of the greatest Powers in the world, and New Zealand,, along with the other fighting Dominions, would remain a member of the Commonwealth. But the war had shown that when the mother country was Wely endangered in Europe she could/ not effectively .operate far afield. For the predictable future it was evident that theY preponderant military power in the central and South Pacific would be the United ■States. Hence New Zealand, instead of being, as before, dependent solely on-Great Britain, would be jointly dependent on her and the United States New Zealand's foreign policy, while aligned with that of Britain must be very closely related to that. of the United States. In short,, this .Dominion would occupy afuture position resembling Canada's, and as long as ; Britain and the U.S.A. continued in their present friendly partnership no ur.surmountable difficulties would arise for New Zealand. Besides those new relations with America, New Zealand must also pay closer attention to China. There was a deep indebtedness to the long-endur-ing Chinese people for their patient resistance. But China was .destined to , be by the end of this century a top- . ranking' industrial and military Power. It was an oversight in the Canberra Pact that the proposed list, of- Powers who were meant to confer about the problems of the South-west Pacific did not include China. ; . The Pacific w'as'a zone of friction m which vastly different civilisations met and collided. New Zealand, the other Occidental peoples of the Pacific must learn to know their neighbours , and actively seek their good- ■ will. ■■•__„. ■ J :: r j'-r T ;,i WT i' _. ■ !

POPULATION NEED,

"Foreign policy, likejall df \New Zear land's problems, was1: bound up with the smallness of population, he continued. There must be more people in these islands and they must-be here within the next 40 years. Only a bold and expansive programme of assisted immigration could place the structure of New Zealand's foreign policy on a really stable foundation. There would not be nearly enough immigrants from Britain herself, and they must -therefore be welcomed from non-Bri-tish countries. To be a small nation was to be always insecure and permanently dependent on others. Along with its political relations, New Zealand must further develop new trade and cultural contacts. The Dominion's exports must seek fresh markets, particularly in the United States and China., Whether that could be done in the case of America de- ., pended on a mutual willingness to lower existing restrictive tariff bairiers. In the case of China it was to be hoped that Chinese-clothing and dietary habits might be, so modified as to welcome butter, cheese, dried milk, lamb, and wool. , . ; ■•■ = . No less important, in1 spreading, international understanding were cultural relations. The educational sysiem must devote more time, to the study of Pacific problems .and peoples than had been done in ;the:.,past. New Zealand should learn more-about the contributions to civilisation^ . and humanism made by such countries as ' -the U.S.A. and China. A special need - -was to train, a proper- - -staff, for a -■-foreign service to represent this country abroad. As yet New Zealand, : Ihough she had established a number i - of overseas offices, lacked a good system of recruiting the administrative staffs of its diplomatic personnel and educating them in higher university studies. This was a really urgent' ' need which should be postponed no l0 Ther'address was riven by Professor Lipson at the Rai> ay Social Hall Waterloo Quay. The chairman was Mr. S. T. Barnett. \