The Nations' Overall Pacific Plans—Plus Russia

and the Atomic Bomb!

SOME people—especially the “Bobby sox Press'’ in Australia—have been displaying concern and excitement about the future control of Pacific Ter ritories, and the part which Australia and New Zealand are likely to play therein. Australia and New Zealand tend constantly to exaggerate their own importance. They are not strong enough to play any significant part, alone, in Pacific affairs.

The United States, evidently, is pre pared to undertake, for an indefinite period, the heavy responsibility of main taining peace in the Pacific zone. The Americans, in connection therewith, naturally wish to make use of the great base of Manus (north of New Guinea), built by Americans with American equip ment and money. It is indicated also that Washington hopes that smaller bases, built by the Americans in 1942-5, in places like Honiara (Solomons), Santo (New Hebrides), and points in Polynesia, although in British territories, will be available for the use of American Forces.

But the cheap politicians of Australia and New Zealand, aided by some news papers, have turned handsprings and danced on their hats at the very idea of “American interference with our sovereign rights.” Instead of thanking all the gods they know for American determination to hold the status quo in the Pacific, and being co-operative, they have stood up on their little dunghills and shaken their fists at the United States.

One be-medalled general even warned his fellow-countrymen against permitting the Americans to hold Manus, because one day the United States may be Aus

tralia’s enemy. Australia’s enemy! There are more people in a big American city than there are in the whole of Aus tralia! rE Prime Ministers of the British Commonwealth have been meeting in London; and we have been in formed that the following agreements have been reached: • The Australian-New Zealand Agree ment of early 1944 (usually called the Anzac Plan) has been accepted as the basis of British policy in the South Pacific. • In accordance with the Anzac Plan, a South Seas Regional Commission will be formed by the United Kingdom, Aus tralia and New Zealand, with head quarters in Australia, to co-ordinate administrative policy in all the British tropical territories south of the Equator. • The United States and France will be asked to join this South Seas Regional Commission, s that their territories south of the Equator may be included in the general plan of administrative and developmental co-ordination. • It is assumed that the South Seas Regional Commission ultimately will be come a part of the UNO structure.

The authors of this plan do not look northwards of the Equator. It is pre sumed that there will be a South-east Asia Regional Commission; that Britain, United States, France, and Holland will be members of it; that it will deal with all the territories of Indonesia, and the Caroline, Marshall and Mariana archi pelagoes; and that it, also, will be sub ject to UNO.

Up to this point, the decisions arrived

at by the British leaders in London were concerned mostly with administration in their respective Pacific Territories. There appeared to be a general wish to obtain tne co-operation and goodwill of the United States.

WHEN the Prime Ministers turned to defence, however, one received, from the published reports, an im pression of aggressiveness. It was announced that Australia had laid down the following as the basis of her approach to the matter: • Forces to be provided in accordance with Articles 43 and 45 of the Charter, including regional arrangements under Article 52. ® Forces to be maintained by Austra lia under arrangements for co-operation in Empire defence in accordance with the inherent right of self-defence under Article 51. • Forces to be maintained by Australia to provide for the inherent right of in dividual self-defence under Article 51. • In regard to arrangements under Article 52, that the question of the use of bases in areas controlled by Australia must be related to an overall plan relat ing to the maintenance of security in the South-west Pacific, with reciprocal rights to the use of bases of other parties to the agreement.

Which, in simple terms, means that Australia is prepared to maintain garri sons in some of the nearby Islands.

One newspaper reports that these view points were generally supported by the United Kingdom and the other Dominions.

THE inaugural work of the South Seas Regional Commission is to be done by Australia and New Zealand. The Commission, in the beginning (presum ably, until it is part of UNO) will have

no administrative authority—its func tions win oe purely advisory. it win assist in the establishment in Australia oi a of colonial studies, wnere selected men may oe trained to become administrative officials. (Already, tnere are indications mat tne Adminis tration school held in 1945 at Duntroon, near Canberra, and at noldsworthy, near oydney, will be the model for tne new institution, and that a clever young man, coioiiel Conlon, who was prominently associated with the School, and tne External Territories Department, will be in tne picture, colonel Conlon recently returned to the University of Sydney as a nith-year medical student.) The lollowing are reported to be the objectives of the South Seas Regional commission: o To promote attainment of self government by the natives. • To recommend on production, fin ance, communications and marketing. • To co-ordinate health and educa tional services. • Collaboration in economic, social and anthropological research. ® To improve wages, conditions of work and welfare generally.

Another report stated that the Com mission, in order to keep in touch with islands communities, will use radio ex tensively. There will be a chain of radio stations throughout tne South Pacinc, probably drawing their programmes from Australia.

Trained men from the British Colonial Ornce, and selected officials from New Zealand, will be sent to Australia as members of the Commission. They will travel extensively in the South Pacific Territories.

EXCEPT that it may become concerned with native welfare to the exclusion of European interests, the plan generally has much to commend it.

For fiiteen years, this journal has been pointing out that, if the Pacific Terri tories suffer from one thing more than another, it is the lack of a co-ordinating authority in relation to policy and ad ministration. A dozen independent Ter ritories, travelling in a dozen different directions, have led almost always to stagnation, and to anomalies without number.

But the expensive new Commission, superimposed upon the various Pacific Administrations which have been ex panded at much extra cost since 1942, is not going to lighten any of the bur dens of the Australian and New Zealand taxpayers. As a matter of fact, long be fore all these Pacific instrumentalities (consummation of the dreams of various Socialistic Ministers) begin really to function, the overburdened taxpayers probably will have rebelled, and there will be much jettisoning of “administra tive frills.”

MEANWHILE, what of defence, and the squawking of the Australian isolationists?

There is no real difficulty here. The United States has not the slightest in terest in the British territories of the South Pacific, except insofar as they may provide necessary facilities for bas ing the southern flanks of the American Forces entrusted with the policing of the Pacific region. All the British Ministers know this quite well. There will be no difficulty in respect to Manus, or Santo, or Honiara. Those, and other places, nominally British and Dutch and French, will be available to all the Forces of the Democratic bloc, now taking shape.

Far more significant than any of the headlined nonsense cabled from London or Australia is a quiet announcement from Washington, made early in May.

The joint Chiefs of Staff (British and

American) have approved a plan under wnich all American-built bases in the South Pacific will be shared equally be tween the Forces of the United States, Britain, Australia and New Zealand. It is stated specifically that USA does not seek territorial control of any of the islands concerned, and has no commer cial interest in them —she merely desires that the bases should be made available as part of her security organisation.

THERE is far more for our attention in the Pacific than silly arguments about territories between the English-speaking nations. Present indi cations are that we have escaped a threat of extinction by Asiatics only to face a new threat from the Asiatic half-world— from Russia.

Russia, through Eastern Siberia, must definitely be regarded as a Power bordering the Pacific. Russia is actively engaged in a campaign designed to undermine and destroy the Western or Democratic Powers. Russia, therefore, must be considered as a potential enemy.

In all the mad, convulsed world of to-day there is nothing more puzzling and disturbing than the attitude of Russia. The Soviet leaders are cynical, non-cooperative, unfriendly. Why? Ap parently, because they think it is theh mission to destroy what they call “capitalism,” and impose their foul, soul destroying system upon all the free nations of the world.

We plan to get peace and security and guard our individual freedom through the United Nations Organisation. The Russian Communists apparently believe that, if they can cripple UNO. and set the Democratic nations quarrelling among themselves, they may throw the Communistic net across the whole world.

So. this month, we have seen the nre liminary Peace Conference in Paris sabotaged bv the Russians, and the sit tings of UNO in New York dislocated, by the same agency, to the point of im potency.

Unless there is a profound change in Russian policy, we shall see soon a breakdown in the UNO nlan, and the sharp division of the world into two blocs—Democratic and Communistic.

Maybe the cure for the world’s worst headache is being prenared to-day at Bikini AtoH, in the Marshall Islands.

An American fleet, and Anglo- American experts, are gathering there for a thorougth test-out of the atomic bomb, early in June.

If, after that, the world is still in one niece, we may have something to say to Molotoff & Co. that will alter the pre sent distressing course of history.