PACIFIC AREA

Evening Star, Issue 25471, 30 April 1945, Page 4

PACIFIC AREA

EMPIRE ATTITUDE TO PROBLEMS

DOMINIONS' BLOC ENVISAGED

SAN FRANCISCO, April 28

The ' New York Times ' correspondent at the conference says Australia, New Zealand, and Canada are likely to take a different position from Great Britain on certain vital issues at the 'conference, without breaking the Commonwealth bonds. Australia, seconded by New Zealand, will attempt to raise the question of embodying full postwar employment in the charter of the new international organisation. They raised this at Philadelphia and Bretton Woods, but Britain strongly imposed it, because she believes it should be achieved by individual countries on their own initiative.

Britain also disagrees with the Australians and New Zealanders on international trusteeships for dependent peoples in the Pacific. The British fear this means international adminis-

tration of colonial areas in the Pacific, including the Netherlands East Indies, Indo-China, and British and Portuguese colonies. The Australians say they are only interested in the establishment of international bases on certain islands recaptured from Japan. Their idea is that these bases should come under a South Sea commission, linking the question of trusteeship closely with regional arrangements and their relationship, to the world organisation. Under such an _arrangement the Australians, the New Zealanders, the French, the Dutch, the British, and the .Americans would jointly operate air and naval bases at particular strategic points. Although the official Australian attitute is a complete disavowal of any intention to demand international administration of colonial areas in which some bases are located; the British fears have not been allayed, as it is understood that certain members of the group favour very strongly pushing the demand for international administration.