CONFIDENTIAL
SOUTH EAST ASIA: BRITISH POLICY ASSUMPTIONS
1. South East Asia is of vital interest to China and perhaps
Japan, but not to the Soviet Union or the West (though they see it
as an important and interesting area).
2. Britain is interested essentially in the maintenance of
the area's stability and resistance to communism (whether of
Moscow or Peking variety), both for geopolitical reasons and
because this is necessary if our trade is to flourish.
3. ASEAN promotes area stability and should be supported
accordingly.
4. Buoyed up by ASEAN-induced self-confidence, and economic
growth, individual ASEAN countries' stability prospects good and
improving (except perhaps Philippines).
5. ASEAN economies have shown themselves dynamic and resilient.
Better placed than other developing countries to accelerate fast
out of recession. Still right to see them as growth area of the
80s''
(SEATAG description).
! T
6. ASEAN countries accepted that in post-Vietnam war South East
Asia they were condemned to be dominoes; decided that if dominoes
weren't to topple one by one they had better prop each other up;
have found this works and hanging together for fear of hanging
separately has become (and will remain) their overriding policy
imperative. This has promoted rapid growth of political
co-operation built around Japanese concept of consensus. All
five want to insulate South East Asia from effects of great
power rivalries, but differing views as to how to do so. In long
run all see China as main external threat.
CONFIDENTIAL
17.