NOTHING TO BE WRITTEN IN THIS MARGIN
Dd. 32855 Ed (4200)
Confidential
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expansionist policy, a£ 'confronting her
Malaysian, Philippine and Australian neighbours.
35 SEATO is a mixture of regional and extra-
regional defence co-operation. It has been
welcomed by some countries in the area as the
most effective way of ensuring U.S. protection;
by others it has been shunned as a Western bloc,
association with which would do them more harm
than good. A reappraisal of its role will
presumably be necessary when the Vietnam war has
ended. If the U.S. decided on an off-shore
protective role, would SEATO be the best vehicle
for this? Is there any prospect of an enlarged
defence grouping of the regional members of
SEATO (effectively Thailand and the Philippines)
Could it emerge from a prior economic associa-
tion? Would it need U.S. guarantees to be
credible?
36.To move south from South East Asia proper,
Australia and Lew Zealand share the general
Western interests of promoting stability in
Asia and resistance to Chime se pressure by
strong indigenous régimes; their geographical,
and increasingly their economic, involvement
with the 'Near North' underline this interest in
a special way. Australia in particular is likel
to feel a growing self-interest in using her
wealth to assist in the economic development of
the area. Her Europeans-only immigration policy
may pose problems for her in her dealings with
the countries of the area if the issue of race
moves to the fore of world politics.
/t.37.