COMMONWEALTH TIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27517, 11 October 1950, Page 7

COMMONWEALTH TIES

Racial Issues A Cause Of Tension AMERICAN GROUP’S VIEW ~ New Zealand Press Association—Copyright Rec. 8.30 p.m. WASHINGTON, Oct. 9. The possibility of a split in the British Commonwealth over racial questions is suggested in a report issued today by the Foreign Policy Association, which is a private gi'oup of foreign policy experts. The report, which was written by Dr Gwendolyn Carter, of the Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, also said that the policy on Japan was a potential cause of disagreement between the United States and certain Commonwealth countries.

“ With all the ties that exist to hold the Commonwealth countries together, no one can deny the seriousness of the tensions which divide some of these countries, notably the Asian dominions from South Africa, and India and Pakistan from each othei\” the report says. “ For these disputes the remaining countries of the Commonwealth have no solution.” The Asian dominions were determined to fight against racial discrimination wherever it might be found. South Africa, of course, offered a classic example. “Yet it is the country which, because of its peculiarly tangled racial pattern, will find it most difficult to overcome racial discrimination,” the report continues. “ Whether in the long run the Commonwealth was flexible enough to contain countries so widely divergent in attitude and so wholly convinced of the rightness of their own approach .to the particular problem, was one of the unsolved questions of Commonwealth relations.”

the United Kingdom’s dominance to a more equalitarian sharing of responsibilities. At the same time the obvious limitations of the resources of the Commonwealth countries have brought about a dependence on the United States to a degree never before exCerienced. In general, the relations etween the United States and individual countries of the Commonwealth bear a marked resemblance to the relations between Britain and the dominions in an earlier period. There is the same sense of common interest but also a touchiness about interference. There is the same recognition that the relationship provides significant dividends, but also a fear that it involves commitments in. worldwide strategy to which at least 'the younger members of the Commonwealth are not yet prepared to commit themselves.’,’ The report,, which said that the United Kingdom remained the only great Power in the Commonwealth, also stated that the Commonwealth and the United States “form the bulwark of freedom throughout the world.”

The report added that the Commonwealth had been sti'engthened and changed in character since the end of World War II by the addition of India and Pakistan to the group. As a result of their membership, the “ British Commonwealth ” was no longer “ British.”

Policy on Japan

The report, in discussing policy on Japan, said: “Australians, in particular, have criticised American failures to build a strong trade union movement in Japan. They feel that not enough has been done to break up the industrial and commercial trusts, and they are sceptical about- Japan’s democratisation. The worst fear of some Australians is that Japan may ultimately turn Communist (partly in reaction against American anti-Soviet policies') and join Communist China and the Soviet Union to overwhelm Asia and the South-west Pacific.”

The report said the Asian dominions afforded other Commonwealth members an insight into new issues and attitudes which were increasingly important for an informed view of world affairs

Dependence on United States

“ In every aspect of Commonwealth relations, there has necessarily been a shift from the traditional pattern of