THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1947. SETTLEMENT WITH JAPAN

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26542, 18 August 1947, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST 18, 1947. SETTLEMENT WITH JAPAN

It is. safe to assume that the opinions formed by the Australian Minister of External Affairs, Dr Evatt, during his visit to Japan will be made the basis of the discussions that are to be held between representatives of the British Commonwealth nations at Canberra later this month. At these discussions the viewpoints of the various Commonwealth governments will be collated, and it can reasonably be predicted that Australia will be deputed to present the major points of British Empire policy at the peace treaty on Japan or at the eleven-Power conference on the treaty which the United States has proposed. Because of the many divergencies of opinion on details that will v be encountered when the compilation of the draft treaty is attempted some broad and agreed policy, representing the general views of all those countries which took a significant part in the Pacific war, is an essential preliminary to the final conference. Neither Great Britain nor the United States desires to be manoeuvred again into the position of having to seek a basis of agreement at a Big Four level, at which the threat of the veto or obstructionist tactics might cause the negotiations to be drawn out interminably, as they have been in the discussions on Germany. A tentative agreement on reparations and the future policy for control of' Japan would be of inestimable benefit when the time came for the experts to work out the final details of the treaty. Dr Evatt has never attempted to conceal his view that Australia had the right to demand the role of a principal .in the peace settlement, and the confident character of the statement he made on his return from Japan suggests that some measure of agreement, at least, has been reached with General MacArthur and the American authorities. It would be idle to suggest that all differences have been overcome, or that all the grounds for Australia’s dissatisfaction with General MacArthur’s peremptory and often arbitrary decisions have been removed. There is no reason to belive, however,, that these differences will prove insuperable at the peace conference or that any Commonwealth bloc will be necessary to enforce acceptance of the major points of Australian policy. Australia and the United States 'are both committed to the task of helping to build a peaceful and democratic Japan, and of destroying that country’s potential for making war. Australia has already given support to the American proposal for an elevenPower conference by Dr Evatt’s recent public 'acceptance of “the democratic principle that, all nations which played any substantial part in the Pacific war should be represented at the peace conference.” Any disagreements that may arise in the future, therefore, are likely to be those of procedure, and not of intention.