Cmmentary

vppalling Problem

jth-East Asia

Robson turns a South Pacific e upon South-East Asia: INING from Europe to Aus a, I spent a month in India, on, Singapore and Hong- Jsing modern planes, one a great deal in a month, relation to the whole pic rot only a few glimpses of 30,000,000 people whose habits colour and limit the f the South Pacific nations, few glimpses, however, sent 3 with a feeling of mingled rustration and despair, or 50 years ago, I began to elf (and the few readers I lat would happen to Aus id New Zealand when Asia . Thirty years ago, I began icise my conviction that muld strike at us, as part in to turn the Pacific into ese lake. Japan struck in ng something of Asian md temper, I was sure after far II that Japan would try Tien came the ejection of ish from India, Ceylon and of the Dutch from In of the French from Indo and —most significant of all tablishment of Red China, apan has more than enough in her own frontiers to keep lome. But our own danger ly increased. lussia created Red China, issia’s fear of the monster shaped grows with each year. Japan is similarly id be that Red China caused apse of the Summit Con- Khrushchev, probably be ’ his fear of Pekin, seemed -awing nearer to the West, lan for “co-existence”. Sud ven as the Summiteers as in Paris, he was snatched ito an atmosphere of savage ice and greatly increased ional tension. mse, still, is anybody’s guess, it is China. on of even 640 million people develop much military while it is unable itself guns and ships and planes, is building. Today’s news jay that, as China will have war-heads by 1965 —and the if delivering them —Britain iring to remove her great establishments from Singa

pore to Fremantle, Western Aus- I was in New Delhi in May, while Chou En-Lai was visiting Nehru.

They were openly snarling at each other. I talked to high-ranking Indians and Europeans, sensed the growing tension.

India and Red Banditry India, today, under independence, is more Anglicised and pro-Britain than ever before in her history. She has need to be. Nehru is becoming so busy defying Red banditry that he has little time to be neutral.

Since the rape of Tibet, Chinese armed units, aggressive and in solent, have crossed the Indian frontier in a few places. The man ager of the hotel where I stayed briefly in Kashmir said to me, jok ingly, “One of these mornings a tunnel is going to open in that mountainside, from within, and the Chinese army will come marching into this quiet valley”.

It is quite possible. Numbers of fleeing Tibetans came through those Himalayan passes into India.

India will move to rapproche ment with Pakistan, and closer re lations with the British Common wealth. But she could be more of an embarrassment than a source of comfort. India’s leaders are doing their utmost to make India’s pro duction feed some 370 million people.

But what can the best of them do when every Five-Years-Plan is de feated by the appalling birthrate?

Unlike India, Ceylon is un pleasantly anti-European, politic ally chaotic and, economically—and for the same reasons—she is follow ing Indonesia into the gutter.

Burma’s plight is similar.

They Do Not Flourish In Singapore, Chinese property owners have contrived so far to keep a hold over the Chinese Leftists who last year took control of the Singapore Government from the British. But they know their time is limited —some people predict that Singapore will become Communist within ten years—and they are quietly and steadily shifting their money out of the former rich British Colony.

Siam, and the three States of Indo-China are resisting rather hopelessly, I fear the increasing political pressure from the north, from Red China.

There is no anti-British, pro-Red movement discernible in Hongkong —that million Chinese community is far too close to the sMnks and political terrors of Red China to want anything other than the efficient, incorruptible rule of the

British Colonial Office. But Hong kong’s time of freedom is limited— it is away out on the end of a limb.

Indonesia, of course, is an in describable politico-economic mess, I did not call there, but I was there in 1955, and in Singapore I was right on the edge of it. The present regime offers no hope at all to the 85 million Indonesians, who are the South Pacific’s nearest Asian neighbours. * ♦ * One’s over-riding impressions of all these SE Asian countries are over-crowding, squalor, hunger and hopelessness.

The Great Powers, with increas ing urgency, are telling each other that they must make a united effort to give these countless masses a higher living standard, a more human outlook.

We must do this, if Western civil isation is to survive. But how?

Governmental gifts, United Nations organisation, Colombo Plans, gestures of goodwill, make so little impact upon the over-all problems as to be ludicrous. Western efforts, like the efforts of the Asian nations’ own leaders, are defeated by the appalling birth-rate of the already appalling populations.

I cannot even guess at the answer —not while all the surplus energy and wealth of the West are en gaged in the Cold War. ☆ ☆ ☆

Soekarno's Ferocity And

Our North-West Frontier

THE future of the archipelagoes of the East Indies—which lie like a shining network across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, be tween Asia and Australasia —is of interest and significance to all South Pacific countries.

At present, the archipelagoes com prise the bankrupt “republic” of Indonesia, all that remains of what was once the orderly empire of the Netherlands East Indies.

Is Indonesia going to break up into a series of little Islands States, or will it eventually be seized by the Indonesian Communist Party, now waiting and ready?

The answer matters a lot to us.

The East Indies provide a natural land bridge by which people may come from overcrowded Asia to the desirable, under-populated lands of the South Pacific.

If it were not for that, the screechings and posturings of Soekarno, the playboy-dictator “pre sident” of Indonesia, would be merely funny. He got back from a world-wander the other day (where much-publicised photographs in dicated a wide and liberal taste in cuddlesome ladies) to announce that Indonesia now would move additional

forces into the Dutch New Guinea Sea Indonesia, he stated feroci ty was ready to meet any hostile move by the treacherous Netherlands recently tpok the precaution of sending an aircraft carrier to Western New Guinea m case some of Indonesia’s excitable soldiery, always shouting and gesticulating, took it into their irre sponsible heads to cross to Dutch territory.

As seen from the South Pacific, Indonesia now is merely a nuisance.

Bu" if its inevitable politico economic collapse should allow the Communists to take over, it could become a menace. We should have Asian Reds right on our north-west borders. . ...

Recent action against the three million Chinese who had settled in Indonesia, and taken over most of the small trading, is hastening the collapse. The Chinese under pressure, now are leaving Indonesia for China in shiploads, emphasising the crippling of the nation’s economic machinery, which com menced when the Dutch were driven out.

The continuing paralysis of in dustry generally, including coconut plantations, is one of the big factors today in the world’s copra market.

Indonesia’s rupiah is now practically valueless outside Indonesia.

Singapore opinion is confident that Indonesia soon will break up, and that the first section of full in dependence will be Sumatra, home of large and powerful oil interests.

Already, it is partially independent. ☆ ☆ it

To Grog or Not To Grog

In New Guinea?

WHILE authority (in the shape of Minister, Australian Terri tories Department, and the Papua-New Guinea Administra tion), is still engaging in shivering fits of terrible uncertainty, or put ting off the evil day of decision, the natives of the Territory are in no two minds about whether they should be allowed alcoholic drink, or not. With them it is not a matter of should they, but simply one of when.

According to one high Admini stration official, the unresolved drink question could be the anvil on which anti-Administration if not anti-European, feeling is forged An exaggeration perhaps—but not much of an exaggeration.

At the recent meeting of the Legislative Council, Simogen Peta one of the three native members,’ said, m his usual forthright fashion; Five years ago you said you would reconsider the drink question about now. Well, the time is up. Is the Administration con

sidering it? And when will we know the verdict?”

“Personally,” Simogen went on, “I don’t think that liquor will do us that much harm. For years people worried about giving us shot-guns for hunting. Well, we got them—and no one has got killed, up to date. There are already laws for dealing with drunk and disorderly people. These should be protection enough.”

Simogen indicated that it was the 600-odd members of NG Mainland native RSSAILA and other clubs who were most “on his back” over the drinking question.

He was supported by John Vuia, native MLC from New Britain, who also pointed out that the promised time for reconsideration was now, and that this his constituents, too, wanted to know when.

The whole question of drinking, from the native view point, has got beyond one of simple permission to engage in what they imagine is a desirable social activity. To them it is now one of racial discrimina tion.

In the last 10 years, native re« sentatives from Papua-New Gim have quite frequently met representatives of other K Islands territories at conferee and in other ways, and they well aware that, although irk places as the Cooks and West Samoa it is still necessary ft through the hocus-pocus of “doctor’s prescription” before can buy liquor, P-NG is the i place in which there is a compi blanket drink prohibition on native people.

In such places as Fiji, Net 1 lands New Guinea, and I Caledonia there is an “opei policy on beer drinking. Ini places there are various pe systems—but in all, there isl means, no matter how compile; whereby at least some memb|i the indigenous populations! obtain liquor legally.

Some New Guinea natives f course, drink alcoholic liquor:! brew it, steal it, obtain it byl illegal means or resort to| coctions of methylated spill other crude alcohol. This is 01 the reasons advanced for all(j the natives to drink—they will how, so it might as well bel wholesome beer.

But there are many other 1 torians, missionaries and laj with years in the Territory, wH completely against any relal of the present prohibition.

Their reasons are sound! commonsense but probably I have much bearing on the ulti decision.

It no longer is a matte whether liquor is good, or bad one of eouality, and the only ; way to level that up is to j Europeans, as well, under prohibition—a weak tool in j and one that would cause ) Territorians to quit P-NG thai income tax legislation has yet Australians, unfortunately, j the worst drinking habits in world. Far too large a propo still drink in order to get d and not simply as a pleasant pastime. They took their dri: methods to New Guinea with and for at least 50 years ns there have had plenty of ot tunity of watching the Territ in his cups. How then will the when the last barrier is them?

It seems a bit much to expeci they will accept the privilege the casual indifference that Englishman gives to his pir mild-and-bitter in the local or the Frenchman to his gla vin ordinaire.

Perhaps, in the ultimate, tl; what Authority is afraid of: beer, of itself, but the Austi six o’clock swill (it still goes spite of 10 o’clock closing in States) translated into Papua?

Guinea conditions for Papua?

Guinea natives.