AUSTRALIA’S PROBLEMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27317, 17 February 1950, Page 5

AUSTRALIA’S PROBLEMS

Communist Challenge Positive Answer Needed NZPA—Copyright SYDNEY, Feb. 16. The problems of Australia’s foreign policy were discussed by the Minister of External Affairs, Mr P. C. Spender, at a function in honour of Mr C. J. Chancellor general manager of Reuter’s, London. Mr Spender said the problems were:

1. The spread of Communism m South-east Asia and the need to find a positive answer to that challenge. 2. The best means of using the potentialities of the British Commonwealth to meet the Communist challenge. 3. The co-ordination of Australia’s foreign policy with that of the United States.

4. The need to compose the present differences between the Western Powers and Russia without appeasement.

He said that for Australia the centre of gravity had shifted to the Pacific and the South-east Asia area, and that as a consequence she found herself in a position of potential difficulty not comparable with any other period in her history. Indo-China presented the first challenge to the Australians. • “If French Indo-China goes, and if those States fall under Communism, it will be too late,” Mr Spender warned. “ Communism will sweep through the whole of the area in which we live.

“ I think America is realising that she cannot regard Japan as the whole of the area to its westward. It may well be that the final struggle, if there is to be one, will take place in the East and not in the West.” He added that he was satisfied that some basis for fighting the Communist challenge existed in the membership of the British Commonwealth. The security of Australia increased as the power of Britain as a nation was strengthened. It was of the first importance to Australia and the peace of the world that the power and prestige of Britain should be restored and increased beyond the point reached during the war. It was unfortunate that it had not been possible for the western world to compose its objectives with those of Soviet Russia. It was important still to attempt to solve that problem, and in doing that Australia’s foreign policy should be co-ordinated as much as possible with that of the United States. No doubt this could be done because the United States believed in the same general principles as Australia, and Australia had the utmost desire to work in the closest collaboration with her.

“ With the terrible instruments ot destruction existing today,” said Mr Spender,\ " every effort must be made to compose whatever differences exist with Soviet Russia, but whatever approach is made there must be no policy of appeasement. Any such policy would lead to destruction as surely as it did in 1939.”