Greymouth Evening Star. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1950. Peace Or War ?

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1950, Page 4

Greymouth Evening Star. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1950. Peace Or War ?

P VENTS related to the Korean war have moved with such dramatic swiftness in the past week that the* world is now confronted with a crisis of the first magnitude. This is directly due to the intervention of Red China in Korea, which has resulted in the creation of an international situation more confused and uncertain than at any time within the last 12 months. Indeed, it would seem that the only hope of the flower of peace being plucked out of the flames of war lies in the chance that Red China may be induced to accept a compromise. But the tone of the speeches of Peking’s delegation to the United Nations Security Council meeting and its unyielding 'attitude—strongly suggests that that hope is rather slender. The United States is obviously no more anxious than any other United "Nations Government to be committed to extensive war in Asia. Russia holds-the trump card in that her armies are now building up their menace to Europe. In this way, no doubt, the Kremlin plans to give indirect support to Red China, as well as open and practical aid by way of supplies and advice.

So long as Red China, backed by the Soviet, pursues its present unrelenting course, so long will the prospects of reaching a peaceful solution diminish—to vanishing point. Speculation is confined by the fact that the motives of the Chinese Reds must be limited to two. One is that they are fearful of the consequences of the United Nations approach to the industrial region of North Korea and Southern Manchuria, or they have decided that at any cost the United Nations armies, because of their predominantly American composition, must not be allowed to win in Korea. One or other of those motives is dictating Chinese policy. And in view of the fact that Peking has refused to accept the assurances of the United Nations that their industrial interests in the ManchurianKorean border will be preserved, the only reasonable conclusion is that they have decided to eject the United Nations forces at all costs.

The weakness of the United Nations position—if it may be called a weakness — is that, as the non-aggressors, they are bound to take all possible steps to preserve peace, consistent with honour and the needs of security. It is impossible to believe that Russia desires a settlement. Her record for the past five years belies any such intention. Russian policy is to keep the democracies in a state of suspense and a chaos of doubt, while at the same time they conquer great areas of the world without the loss of a single Soviet soldier. But the possibility cannot be ruled out that, if the Soviet decides that war is inevitable, large-scale war may be launched before the Western Powers are ready. For that reason the indecision that has marked —and still marks—the policies of the 'Western Powers for the past year or more is nothing short of tragic. If the United Nations are forced to undertake an ignominious withdrawal from Korea, the stage will be set for another large-scale advance of Communist power. Unless the situation can be retrieved in a manner wholly in accord with dignity and honour, the prestige of the world organisation will dwindle to. proportions so insignificant as to spell its ruin. The conclusion*is unavoidable that the Kremlin set a trap for the Western Powers in Korea. The Communist rulers were, however, just as likely to set one elsewhere; indeed, the age-old basic conflict between good and evil renders it. highly improbable that Communism and Western civilisation could ever live side by side in peace. To suggest otherwise would be to fly in the face of inescapable facts. /The alternative to standing against the Reds is to bow to the powers of evil.