CO537-6578 — Page 58

4.

SECRET

prove to people that things are going well. Nor must we under--

estimate the 2nd string to the Communist bow, and that is their

peace propaganda campaign. Those are some of the difficulties

We have to face We are all conscious of the special nature of

the problem in South East Asia. Communism in itself is not a

problem, although I think that the appeal of Communism is sometimes

underestimated. The essence of the problem, as we see it here lies

in the strivings of nationalism in all the countries concerned,

coupled with an extremely precarious situation in every country

in the area, and in the existence of all kinds of troubles and

disturbances which have nothing whatever to do with Communism, but

which Communism can exploit.

Our object must be to work for the establishment of

stability, prosperity and confidence. These are the conditions

which the Communists abhor in every country except their own.

The second thing is that we have got to strive for the greatest

degree of common effort to produce these conditions, and here we

are up against a difficulty because we have to reckon with a very

jealous nationalism which regards offers of help, as possibly

Leading to entanglement, and possibly imperialism under another

guise. Those new independent countries have come to look on the

international problem as a struggle between two warring blocks, out

of which they had much better keep.

That roughly is the problem in South East Asia. We

have to consider two particular angles. We have got to suppress

the Communist terrorist campaign in Malaya and prevent its outbreak

in other territories for which we are responsible. As regards nations

outside our orbit they must not be pushed into resistance but

encouraged to organise it for themselves.

This means a possible

difference of methods in various countries and at this Conference

I think we have to consider the tactical use of propaganda both in

the military and the political sense in Malaya and the strategic

use of propaganda in South East Asia generály.

We have got to /consider these