WEST ADVISED TO CHANGE APPROACH TO ASIA’S FUTURE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23288, 24 June 1950, Page 5

WEST ADVISED TO CHANGE APPROACH TO ASIA’S FUTURE

(10 am.) NEW YORK, June 22. General Carlos Romulo. the Philippines Foreign Minister, said today that henceforth any decisions about the future of Asia must take account of the genuine interests of the Asian peoples. “The Western world should take a hint from the new frame of mind which is developing in many Asian countries —growing insistence by many leading people in the region that they do not wish to have any part in the cold war or be drawn into any military alliances of any kind or to aggravate by any action of theirs the present dangerous tension ill international affairs.” General Romulo said the Western attitude towards Asia was still coloured by the same predominant considerations which originally dictated and dominated the Western approach to Asia. Through Oriental Eyes

“Asia is still primarily a theatre of cold war, a potentially valuable, ally in a shooting war, a major factor In global military strategy and a rich and populous region that must be kept m the camp of the democracies and on the side of the free world,” he said. "Though this judgment may seem valid and sufficient for the purposes of the West, it may not be so in the eyes of the Oriental peoples themselves. _ "Recognition and acceptance of this difference is a basic condition for revaluation of relations betv. een the Western nations and the peoples of Asia before those relations deteriorate beyond repair. . , . ~ “Henceforth any decision about the future of Asia and its peoples by whomsoever they may be made, must take due account of the genuine interests of the Asian peoples themselves. An objective equally just and necessary for both is co-operation on the basis of equality and-mutual respect as well as understanding of each other s problems. “There are a number of assumptions on myths about Asia which must oe set aside in the interests of better understanding. Faith—Plus Something Else

“One of these is the assumption that democracy of the Western type is or should be preferred and accepted by Asian peoples, but democracy is not native to Asia. Asian socitey for long ages has rested upon a solid authoritarian base, hc-avily overgrown with custom, tradition and ritual.” General Romulo said the appeal of democracy ns the free world understood it was not general in Asia. “Therefore the missionary zest with which !he advantages of democracy are being brought to the attention of the Asian peoples must rest on faith, plus something else. That something else is none other than good works." Asian peoples would judge political and economic systems only in terms that had a concrete bearing on their daily lives. . General Romulo said that Asiatics would want to know what those systems had to do with freedom movement among still-subject peoples and what they might do to raise living standards.