House Begins Debate On International Affairs

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27395, 7 July 1954, Page 13

House Begins Debate On International Affairs

PARLIAMENT

(Neto Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, July 6. The time had 'come to admit Communist China to the United Nations, said the Minister of External Affairs (Mr T. C. Webb) in the Hoose of Representatives tonight, introducing a discussion on international affairs. He was firmly convinced, he said, that China’s absence from the United Nations had prevented a lessening of international tension, thus endangering the peace of the world. The Leader of the Opposition (Mr Nash) said he agreed that Communist China should be admitted. It was just the rump of the Chinese people that was operating from Formosa. Mr Webb said that if a settlement was reached on Indo-China one question would be whether that settlement was to be guaranteed. Mr Eden had suggested a type of eastern Locarno. The suggestion, Mr Webb said, should not be rejected out of hand, even though its critics had claimed it was just the Locarno Pact that had placed Britain in a false position. But, Mr Webb said, he was not sure whether such an arrangement would be compatible with a South-east Asian alliance. For Australia and New Zealand the formation of a South-east Asian alliance was one of extreme urgency. There had been differences in timing between the United States and the United Kingdom on this question. Mx Eden held the view that there should be no discussions while there was a chance of settlement at Geneva, and he agreed with Mr Eden that the chance of settlement should not be jeopardised. “Menace Will Be Greater” “But, whatever comes out of Geneva I don’t think there is any doubt that the menace of communism will be r eater for us and for Australia than is today,” Mr Webb said. The difficulty was not so much military aggression—that could be halted by military effort—but the insidious tactics of infiltration and subversion. The West was up against an ideological aggression which,- by taking advantage of poverty and distress in underprivileged areas, sought to gain dominion over the mind of man. . New Zealand regarded the formation of an alliance more urgently than the United Kingdom. Mr Webb went on. It was pleasing to see, however, that as a result of talks in Washington among Mr Eisenhower, Sir Winston Churchill, Mr Dulles, and Mr Eden, there was agreement that plans for the establishment of a collective defence i system were to be pressed forward—whether a settlement was reached over •Indo-China or not. .Differences were bound to arise between Britain and the United States, and these differ- < endes were bound to be emphasised. However, they were differences only in methods. “I know for a fact that our little : country, supported by our big sister across the Tasman, will be able to exert influence to bring about an alliance, and will be able to play quite , a part in reconciling any differences ’ that may arise between those two ] great nations, on whom our security J so vitally depends,” he added. The adm Lssion of Communist China! ■ to the United Nations was a question 1 that was becoming increasingly im- * portant, Mr Webb continued. “I am firmly convinced that the ■ absence of China from the United 1 Nations has prevented a lessening of ‘ international tension. I am more con- ( vinced of that as a result of my visit ‘ to Geneva.” 1 He said he was satisfied that the non- ’ admission of China was tending to 1 keep up tension, thus endangering J wcrld peace. - 1 Opposition voices: Hear, hear.

Chinese an Formosa Mr Webb said that no-one could seriously argue that those on Formosa could speak for the millions on the mainland. Mr Webb recalled that his earlier view had been that after its aggression in Korea. Communist i China had to earn its right to be admitted.

"I am bound to confess now that, in view of the part China through Chou En-lai is playing in connexion with the Indo-China affair, I find it

hard to deny the right of Red China to be admitted to the United Nations,” Mr Webb said. That was looking at it from the question of China’s right to be admitted, he said. There might well be differences of opinion as to whether she had earned the right to be admitted.

One remedy to combat Russian aims of enforcing her creed upon the world was the provision of financial and technical assistance to under-developed countries. Another method lay in the diplomatic field. Mr Eden,' speaking with special knowledge in the House of Commons, had told xif differences between the Communist Powers, Mr Webb said. No-one outside the Iron Curtain had greater reason for knowing about those differences. “Here is a situation we should endeavour to exploit,” he said. “We should endeavour to drive a wedge between China and Russia.” The West might not succeed, he continued, but by cold-shouldering China, China was being driven more into the Russian orbit..

“If that is correct, we are really cutting off our nose to spite our face,” he added.

It 'could not be denied that China had become a great nation, a force to be reckoned with. The danger of the present policy was of solidifying or welding together into one solid Communist block, these two nations containing two-fifths of the world’s population.

Mr Webb said that as a first step toward severing China from Russia consideration must be given to her admission to the United Nations. Government members and a few Opposition members applauded Mr Webb at the conclusion of his speech.

Mr Nash’s Views The Leader of the Opposition* said there might not have been quite the same difficulties today if China had been admitted to the United Nations. Mr Nash said he did not think the problem in Indo-China would be settled unless all the States had complete independence and were not tied to France. Intervention by outside nations in Indo-China could not succeed—indeed, the people of Vietnam were giving their strength to the Vietminh in the fight for independence.

The Prime Minister of France had one of the most difficult jobs to perform, but he could obtain success in Indo-China only with the consent of the people in Indo-China.

Mr Nash said he believed IndoChina could govern itself without extending the Communist danger farther to the south or to the west. The Asian way of life was. not the Communist way, and the Asian peoples were not Communist minded—they were patient, industrious, and peaceful He was disturbed to hear Mr Webb say that New Zealand and Australia were in agreement that a South-east Asian pact was a matter of extreme urgency, Mr Nash said. “A pact with whom? And who will be left out?” he asked. No such pact should be made unless it included India, Pakistan, Ceylon, and Burma. , Mr Nash said he agreed that China should have been admitted to the United Nations earlier, and that its admission should not be qualified by the armistice principles operating in China. There was no question that the people in control were the Government of China. It was just a rump of the Chinese people that was operating from Formosa. The question of Formosa had to be examined to see whether it should be under another regime. There was something to be said for making it a trusteeship territory. Mr Nash said that much credit was owing to the Commonwealth for the Colombo Plan, and to the United States for the magnificence of its generosity in lifting the standards of people where the living standards were low. Indo-China should control itself, said Mr Nash. It wanted help to do that

Other speakers in the debate, which will be continued tomorrow evening, were Mr W. B. Tennent (Government Palmerston North), Mr J.\ Mathison (Opposition, Avon), and the Minister of Education (Mr R. M. Algie).