SIAM'S NEW RULER

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 July 1937, Page 3

SIAM'S NEW RULER

NO ALLIANCE WITH JAPAN. Luang Pradist Manadharm, foreign Minister of Siam, would deserve a place in any galaxy of modern Asiatic nolitical leaders. This young Siamese intellectual—who received his doctorate of laws in France and outlines the national policies of his Government in fluent. English—was a very active figure in the bloodless revolution that has brought into power in Siam a, new regime, dominated by the People’s Party, with a. typically modern nationalist programme, calling for full equality with foreign Powers, an expansive armament programme and' energeitc development ot national resources (writes the Bangkok correspondent of the “Christian Science Monitor”). In the course of the Siamese revolution Luang Pradist was accused by his enemies of being a Communist. But. my talk with him in one of Um cool. high-ceilinged rooms of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is almost, opposite the ornate royal palace, did not. convey any such impression. The ideas which lie expressed were very similar to those which one would ppobably hear in Ankara, ’lcheran, Baghdad or any other Oriental capital of a. State which is awakening to the impact, of modern social tendencies and wishes to claim its rightful place in the sun.

In one small mailer connected with my interview, the Siamese Foreign .Minister gave a. commendable example of Hie punctuality which all lhe new Oriental Nationalist Governments are endeavouring to instill into peoples whose tastes and traditions run rather in the opposite direction. He was only willing to be quoted on condition that my questions and his answers should be put in writing. As I was leaving Bangkok on the morning after my interview, 1 was a little doubtful as to the likelihood of receiving the text of the interview in authorised form before my departure. But it was duly delivered, along with several supplementary documents', in ample time.

Siam’s relations with Japan are a. subject of much gossip and speculation throughout the Far East, and this was naturally one of the first subjects which I raised in my interview. The Foreign Minister replied that. Siam’s foreign policy was one of friendly co-operation with all the Powers, including Japan. He specifically denied that Siam favoured any special politico-military agreement with Japan on a Pan-Asian basis, and that any project existed for building a canal across the Isthmus of 'Kra. Rumours about the construction of such a canal have at times produced a disturbing effect in England, as the construction of this waterway would short circuit Singapore and diminish its significance, both economically and strategically. AVANT TO SELL COTTON. Luang Pradist declared that Siam would like to sell more cotton to Japan, just as to other countries, as it was part of the Government’s policy to broaden the agricultural output of the country and encourage other crops besides rice. Siam’s expenditure abroad on airplanes and other war material elicited a gentle warning in the last report of the British Financial Adviser, W. A. M. Doll, who pointed out that the

double strain of this outlay and of the homeward remittances of the large Chinese commercial class in Siam might create financial embarrassment under certain circumstances. The Foreign Minister’s reply on this point was as follows:

“Siam’s military expenditure is far less than that of other countries. What, is being done now is just to make good what has not yet been done or has been left undone in reorganising the defence forces on a reasonable footing for defence purposes. Our policy is entirely one of peace, but as defence measures are being strengthened throughout the world, it. is natural, that we should 1 have to make good our deficiencies in this respect.”

In reply to a question about the measures which the Government favours in the industrial and economic spheres the Foreign Minister referred me to an official statement of policy on this question. The main points of this statement were that the Government might undertake public utility works itself, or in conjunction with companies or individuals. Enterprises which do not fall under the category of public utilities are to be left to the enterprise of private citizens, except in cases where it seems necessary for the Govrnment to take the initiative. CHINESE MINORITY. Siam lias a. large Chinese racial minority. Some observers estimate that out of Siam’s population, which is in tiie neighbourhood of 13,000,000, 2.500,000 are Chinese. The Chinese are the shopkeepers of the country and own most of the rice mills which represent the main industry of Bangkok. I asked the Foreign Minister whether the Government proposed to limit the predominance of the Cliine.se in retail trade and whether it favours ■the naturalisation and assimilation of Chinese now resident -in Siam. His reply was as follows: — “Siamese nationals have hitherto depended for their livelihood almost, exclusively on agriculture. It is natural that more and more of them should engage in trade and commerce in the days to come. It is also natural that the Government should encourage them to do so. But this does not mean that foreigners will be excluded from trade in this country. . . . Siam no less than other countries would like those foreigners who are permanently established in this country and whose interests are bound up with those of this country to become Siamese uationals.”

The percentage of literacy in Siam, according to Luang Pradist, is about 20 per cent, and the proportion oil children of school age who are being educated is about 58 per cent. In response to a concluding question as to how the Government wishes to hold the balance between modernisation and the preservation of old ideas, beliefs ami customs, the Foreign Minister replied:

“The value of Western civilisation to modern progress is uncontested. In order to achieve progress, therefore, an appropriate degree of modernisation is necessary. Our formula, however, is not to adopt, but to adapt, which means that our aim is to assimilate what is best in Western civilisation, while preserving our national characteristics.”