with hope

From Russia with hope

By David North

THE possibility of Soviet approval for the termination of the United Nations Trusteeship for Micronesia has emerged, which, if true, would be particularly good news for the Marshalls and Federated States of Micronesia.

While the United States formally re gards the United Nations trusteeship as dissolved for the Marshalls, FSM, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, this view is not shared by most European nations. As a result, efforts by FSM and the Marshalls to establish diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom, France and some other nations have been thwarted. Were the Trusteeship Council and the UN Security Council to recognise the termination of the trusteeships, the desired diplomatic relationships could be established.

Palau remains a Trusteeship in every one’s eyes, and is not directly involved in the apparent warming on the part of the Soviets. Ruled by Japan from 1914 through 1945, Palau is the world’s last

trusteeship.

The possibility of the USSR changing its long-standing posture on the trusteeship issue was raised by the Soviet’s ranking Pacific Island specialist, Dr Victor Vresky, during his recent island hopping trip through Micronesia. He has been quoted in the island press as saying that the end of the Cold War could lead to Soviet recognition of the end of the

Micronesian trusteeships.

Dr Vresky, while not a Soviet diplo mat, is known to be highly regarded in

Moscow. He is the chairman of the South Pacific States Department of the USSR’s Academy of Sciences, a Russian thinktank. He has made a number of visits to the area, and recently has been seen in Palau, Ponape, and Guam and other islands in and near the trusteeship terri tory.

Officials in Washington are quietly pleased at the prospect of a Soviet decision along these lines, both for its own sake, and as yet another sumbol for the easing relationship between the two super powers. Washington, however, is silent on the matter because, formally, it regards the trusteeship as already terminated.

Marshalls President, Amata Kabua, on his recent trip to Washington, noted that efforts by his government to arrange for formal diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom and France were hung up on the question of the lack of formal United Nations recognition of the end of

the trusteeship.

Meanwhile, a Russian research vessel cruising in Micronesian waters attracted some attention when it was sighted off Helen’s Reef (sometimes called Helen’s Island) near the southern edge of Palau’s jurisdiction. Helen’s Reef, which is also claimed by Indonesia, lies about 200 miles from the nearest Indonesian island of Morotai and is about 300 miles south of Palau’s capital on Koror. It surrounds a large lagoon, is routinely uninhabited, but sometimes the Government of Palau stations an observer there with a radio to discourage pouchers from raiding the rare corals and giant clams found in the area.

The Russian research ship, Academic Karlov , was seen off Helen’s Reef; Palau’s patrol boat, a former US Coast Guard cutter transferred to Palau earlier this year, headed off to investigate but aban doned the mission when radio messages said that the ship had left Helen’s Reef. □