ARMS DISTRIBUTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27058, 18 April 1949, Page 5

ARMS DISTRIBUTION

United States May Retain Decisive Voice ATLANTIC PACT SIGNATORIES New Zealand Press Association—Copyright Rec. 11 p.m. WASHINGTON, Apl. 16. The Secretary of State, Mr Dean Acheson, is understood to have told the other Governments who signed the Atlantic Pact that the United States must keep a voice, perhaps the decisive one, on how American arms are to be distributed among those who signed the treaty. The question was would the United States divide the arms or simply make them available and let the receiving nations decide among themselves on the division. The issue was raised by the Brussels Treaty Powers during preliminary treaty talks in Washington on America’s proposed arms aid programme, estimated to cost at least 1,000,000,000 dollars for the Atlantic area. To the surprise of some American officials, at least five Brussels Treaty Powers suggested they should present their arms needs to the United States as a group, deciding afterwards among themselves what each would receive out of the total. Mr Acheson is believed to have made it clear at that time that the American Government could not yield its final authority over arms distribution.

Diplomats of the United States and other Governments to-day said the issue was not a particularly sharp one. They were sure a satisfactory solution would be reached, probably by having the United States participate fully in strategic planning and arms distribution plans of the Brussels Powers. The officials said that one question which had arisen was whether American arms would enable the Netherlands Government to strengthen its forces in Indonesia where the United States disapproved of the Dutch policy.. The Netherlands Government as understood to have assured the State Department that it would neither send American ai-ms nor send arms displaced by American aid to its forces in Indonesia. American officials said it must be recognised, however, that when the Dutch were made militarily stronger at home they would be in a better position to strengthen themselves in Indonesia. They said the best hope for the situation was for an early settlement of the Indonesian dispute. Senator Robert Taft, head of the Republican Senate Policy Committee, declared to-day that Senate Republicans will force a full discussion on the North Atlantic Pact. His statement was made in reply to an article by the Democratic national chairman, Senator J. McGrath, that the Republicans may be planning to use the debate on the treaty as a “Legislative roadblock” against other measures on President Truman’s programme. Senator Taft said: “ I think there is a public demand for a full and comprehensive discussion of the pact and all of the problems which arise out of it, including the furnishing of arms to signatory nations. It seems to me that the treaty is far more important as far as our country is concerned than Mr Truman’s proposed economic control measures.”