Britain May Ask Full Military Support From Dominions

Wanganui Chronicle, 11 October 1948, Page 5

Britain May Ask Full Military Support From Dominions

LONDON, Oct 9 (Recd 7.5 pm).— Britain will ask the Dominions to pledge full military support lor the Brussels Alliance in the event oi war against Russia, says the Associated rress correspondent in Paris, quoting authoritative Comonwealth sources who insisted on anonymity. T’nese sources said that the Britisn had a plan whereby each Dominion would be asked to accept representation on a unified military staff and committee of alliance. Canada already has military observers sitting in the Military Command which Lord Montgomery now leds. Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, India and Ceylon will also be asked to join. Details of this and other more specific projects have already been sent to the various Dominions from London. It was stated that the Commonwealth Prime Ministers’ talks next w’eek would be heavily underlined by what British leaders feel to be the need to place the Dominions on regional basis. An official South African source said that the Union would undertake specific military commitments only if Britain, France and the Benelux countries were involved in war against Russia. The Union would reserve the right to remain neutral in the event of war against a non-Com-munist State.