FOREIGN POLICY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26778, 22 May 1948, Page 7

FOREIGN POLICY

COLLECTIVE SECURITY PRINCIPLE FOR WORLD CONFIDENCE BRITAINS VIEW DEFINED N.Z.P.A.—Copyright. LONDON, May 20. The Government’s foreign policy as outlined by the Fqreign Secretary, Mr Ernest Bevin, at. the Labour Party's annual conference at Scarborough, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the delegates, the voting in favour of representing more than 4,000,000 against 224,000. He had no intention of pursuing a policy of trying. to change by force those things done in Eastern European States with which he disagreed, Mr Ernest Bevin said when replying to the foreign affairs* debate. Britain, however, was not prepared to sit idle and see the processes adopted in Eastern States carried on over a weakened, distracted, and disunited Europe. The rest of Europe contained States which thought as Britain did, and there could surely be no objection to coalescing them and harmonising their economic and defence policies. Mr Bevin said that if Britain,' for fear of what Mr Molotov would say to her and France, had declined Marshall aid, she would have been gililty of one of the greatest crimes against her own people. “ There is no basis for disarmament and confidence until you can get the nations of the world to commit themselves collectively to security as a fundamental principle on which other things can be built. We must proceed to develop i regional pacts of collective security where we can, \and not wait for everyone’s final agreement.” Western Union Planning

Speaking on Western Union, ‘ Mr Bevin said there must be common defence, with the proportion of the national income to be spent on defened worked out. He hoped it was possible soon to hold a conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers, so that their views might be given on Western Union and misunderstandings about it avoided, also to enable outstanding issues affecting parts of the Commonwealth to be dealt with.

“In Western Europe is a great industrial area, and over the world there is a sub-standard of living for millions. The question is how to plan the economy of the West to help to develop the standard in the great undeveloped countries. If we limit ourselves to the Commonweatlh alone, it will not be sufficient. If we harness the Commonwealth and overseas territories to the skill, ability, and productive capacity of the West, then we can solve our balance payments, and have a continuous rise in living standards for generation^.” Japanese Peace Talks Referring to the Japanese Peace Conference, Mr Bevin said the Government could not be a party to excluding New Zealand, Australia, Burma, India, and Pakistan from it. The Great Pbwers should agree that a peace conference with Japan should be held immediately on the basis of 14 or 15 countries It would be a test of sincerity if Russia, America, and Britain agreed to hold a Japanese peace conference immediately, and "admit all nations affected instead of only the Big Four as Russia advocated. When the Japanese peace conference was held it would be possible to get down to a settlement of the Far East, which was now a very important thing. Appeal to Greece Mr Bevin, replying to references to Greece, said Britain would not desert democratic Greece while neighbouring countries were seeking to make another Czechoslovakia of her as soon as the British left. Civil war, as an instrument of foreign policy by any outside country, was a dastardly thing. He appealed to those engaging in it to stop. The conference accepted unanimously the executive’s statement of protest against all forms of terrorism in Greece; both those carried out by the Communists and reprisal executions by the Government. Mr Ziliiacus moved an amendment calling on the Government to end the Anglo-American joint Chief of Staff Conference, frame estimates on the assumption* that Britain need not .prepare for self-defence, withdraw her troops from Greece, invite Russia to help settle Middle East affairs through the United Nations, and establish full trade relations with Eastern European “ Socialist-planned economies.” This was defeated by 4,097,000 votes to 224,000.

The conference adopted a resolution * by the Mine Workers’ Union supporting the Government’s policy welcoming Britain’s acceptance of the Marshall Plan offer, also the recent trade agrement with- Russia.