Mr Eden Outlines Organisation For National Defence

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26915, 29 October 1948, Page 5

Mr Eden Outlines Organisation For National Defence

Rec. 9 p.m. LONDON, Oct. 28. A communique issued after the closing session of the Commonwealth parliamentary conference said the conference devoted its closing sessions to the question of defence. Mr Anthony Eden said the United Nations, because of the veto, had no means of enforcing its decisions. A real world organisation in which all the great Powers co-operated was not now po >- sible and it was necessary to fall back on various regional organisations. First, the family group and brotherhood of the Commonwealth; secondly, the Western Union, membership of which did not conflict with membership of the Commonwealth; thr union of the British Commonwealth with the United States. In this direction lay the answer to the Communist threat. Standardisation between the groups and an interchange of all weapons was essential. The conference agreed that, in feelings and objectives, the members of the Commonwealth were united in support of their own way of life and opposition to international Communism. The first main defence of the Commonwealth hacl to be a Commonwealth defence rather than any other regional organisation. The communique said that if defence responsibilities were to be distributed round the Commonwealth it was necessary to have better provision for liaison regarding the various branches of defence. The Deputy President of the Pakistan Constituent Assembly, Mr Tamizuddin Khan, pointed out that differences between the Commonwealth’s members were far less important than their common needs and interests.