PACIFIC DEFENCE PLANNING NOW IN PROGRESS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22948, 17 May 1949, Page 5

PACIFIC DEFENCE PLANNING NOW IN PROGRESS

CANBERRA. May 16

The Prime Minister, Mr. J. B. Chifley, said that defence planning for the Pacific was proceeding parallel with defence planning for the North Atlantic.

He added that Australia had the closest links with Britain as the principal partner in British Commonwealth defence.

“The apprdach to the common scheme of defence in the Pacific should be by agreement between Britain, Australia and New Zealand and. thereafter, with the United States.” Mr. Chifley said, "and then, later, with other nations with possessions in this area.” It is believed that the representatives of the Governments of Australia, New Zealand. India, Pakistan. Ceylon and Malaya will meet for defence talks before the end of the year.

Mr Chifley said that in co-operation with the British and New Zealand Governments, Australia had made appropriate arrangements by which Britain and New Zealand were represented in Australian Government machinery and Australia was correspondingly represented in Britain and New Zealand,

The problems of Commonwealth cooperation extended to plans for the development and distribution of the resources of the British Commonwealth by measures such as the expansion of Australia's secondary industries and an increase of population by sound imHgration policy.