HYDROGEN BOMB HELD VITAL TO U.K.'S SECURITY

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28262, 27 April 1957, Page 8

HYDROGEN BOMB HELD VITAL TO U.K.'S SECURITY

(A’ew Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, April 26. The United Kingdom’s existence was, at the moment, dependent in the last resort on American defence policy, said the Acting-High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, Mr D. M. Cleary, in an address to the Wellington branch of the Royal Society of St. George. “Apart from the attempts at internal subversion with which England has to cope, we are faced with a two-fold military threat,” he said. "In the first place, we are greatly outnumbered by Soviet forces and conventional weapons. Therefore, we must have atomic weapons to deal with this threat. Second, the Russians also possess the hydrogen bomb and we do not. “There is no complete defence

against nuclear attack. But, if only one hydrogen bomb were dropped on a small island such as England, it would cause incalculable devastation. Therefore, a would-be aggressor with nuclear weapons must be deterred.

“The only deterrent is the possession of the hydrogen bomb by the West, coupled with the effective means of delivering it at very short notice.

“At the moment the United States is the only Western Power in possession of the hydrogen bomb. This means that, at the moment, our very existence is dependent in the last resort on American defence policy. “It also means that our freedom to act is also, in the ultimate resort, dependent in large measure on American foreign policy. Prudent Provision “We are comforted by the thought that America has the bomb and the will to use it in defence of Western European civilisation, but the British Gov- 1 ernment also feels that common prudence demands that we also ' have the bomb. This is in order ‘ that we may be not only masters 1 of our own defence, but also masters of our own foreign policy ’ and thus be enabled to continue ] to play our traditional part in giving a lead where necessary in world affairs. “We also feel that the effective ] defence of Europe calls for the 1 possession of the bomb by a ‘ country in Europe itself. America 1 is, after all, a long way from 3 Europe, but once England, which J is part of Europe, possesses the 1 bomb, the chances of further ag- 1 gression in Europe should be c vastly reduced. “Thus it is, that we must pursue s our plqn to carry out our hydro- 1 gen bomb tests in the South Pacific. I need hardly assure an c audience such as this that the ut- c most care has been exercised in f devising the tests to ensure that L no damage occurs to any inhab- G ited islands. f

“I have read most, if not all, of the protests that have been raised against our forthcoming testsSome of them are based on moral grounds and some on health grounds. “So far as the effect on health is concerned, I can only repeat what Mr Macmillan has already stated in the House of Commons, namely, that from the medical and biological point of view the radiation effects of these explosions

will be insignificant and<that there will be no perceptible radiation outside the test area. Right of Survival

“As for the moral arguments, it surely cannot be denied that every nation has the right to secure the means of its own defence and survival. We are satisfied that possession of the hydrogen bomb is the only way in which we can expect, with any kind of certainty, to ensure our survival. The tests must therefore go on.

“It is no pride of possession of the bomb that impels us, but the sheer desire to survive as a major power in order that we may continue to play an effective part in maintaining freedom and defending the right, so that peace ahd order may yet prevail."