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India, Pakistan, and Burma. On the return of the delegation a report on the conference was submitted to Parliament, together with the comments and proposals of the New Zealand delegation towards certain aspects of the peace settlement. These documents emphasize New Zealand security interest in the settlement and place stress upon the interconnection between welfare and security, upon the post-treaty supervision of Japan, and in particular upon the relationship between the Japanese peace settlement and the United Nations. The report was the first question to be referred by the Government to the External Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, and during the time it was under discussion by the Committee additional documentation was prepared by the Department for the information of members of the Committee. This service has been maintained and extended since then by the presentation, from time to time, of additional studies on Far Eastern matters arising out of the discussions and interests of the Committee. After the invitation to attend the Canberra Conference had been accepted an invitation to attend a peace conference to be held in or near Washington or San Francisco was addressed by the United States Government to States represented on the Far Eastern Commission. Under the United States proposal the eleven countries represented on the Far Eastern Commission were to attend the Conference, making their decisions by two-thirds majority vote. The New Zealand Government, and other Governments of the British Commonwealth, welcomed the proposal for a conference, although in view of their prior commitment the date of 19 August, tentatively suggested by the United States Government, was not acceptable to them. The reply of the Soviet Union, however, made clear their view that the Japanese peace settlement must first be considered by the Council of Foreign Ministers ; the Chinese Government also desired a procedure by which there would be a modified form of the veto. An impasse was thus reached, and no way has yet been found of overcoming these difficulties, although there has been general support for the holding of an early conference. 3. Far Eastern Commission The eleven-nation Far Eastern Commission* has continued to meet regularly during the course of the year, New Zealand representation being drawn from the New Zealand Legation in Washington, as was done last year. On 19 June, 1947, the Commission passed an important decision in its basic post-surrender policy for Japan. In general the emphasis during this year has shifted

* Composition and powers summarized in annual report for 1946-47 (A-11, 1947).