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12 SEATO Rec. 1 (1973)

handle is hein.weaties/seatorcd0012 and id is 1 raw text is: S~EAT RCBn Vol. X1I No. 1 February 1973 MR. SUNTHORA VISITS UK AND FRANCE S ecretary-General of the South- East Asia Treaty Organiza- tion, Mr. Sunthorn Hongladarom visited the two European member nations, France and the United Kingdom from 10-15 January and 15-18 January 1973 respectively. During these visits, he held useful discussions with ranking govern- ment and military officials on mat- ters concerning SEATO and on the recent developments in South-East Asia. The Secretary-General expressed his firm belief that SEATO conti- nued to have an important role to play in couitering insurgency and subversion which was unlikely to be diminished despite the Vietnam cease-fire agreement. British Under-Secretary for For- eign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr. Anthony Royle M.P., gave his assurances of the continuing support of Her Majesty's Government for SEATO which in his opinion, was making a major contribution to the peace and stability of the area. Host Secretary-General Mr. Nassir Assar greets Mr. Sunthorn at GENTO headquarters in Ankara. French Foreign Ministry offi- cials also expressed the hope that peace would soon be established in the region. Notable among the officials met by the Secretary-General in England and in France were: the Rt. Hon. Edward Heath M.P., the British Prime Minister; Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Af- fairs, the Rt. Hon. Sir Alec Douglas- SEATO Secretary-General, Mr. Sunthorn Hongladarom, inspects the guard of honour, the 2nd battalion, Grenadier Guards, during his visit to London. Home, M.P.; Mr. Anthony Royle, M.P., Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the Secretary of State for Defence, the Rt. Hon. Lord Car- rington; Sir Michael Carver, Chief of the General Staff; and in France, M. de Courcel, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and M. Froment Meurice, Director of the Asia/Australasia Department. Secretary-General Sunthorn also made a two-day visit to CENTO Headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, at the invitation of CENTO Secretary- General Mr. Nasser Assar. The possibility of further co-operation between the two organizations was discussed, 0 SEATO ESSENTIAL FRAMEWORK FOR ASIA'S DEVELOPMENT T he United States Govern- ment remain convinced that SEATO is essential for the security of Thailand and the con- fidence of people in the area. Mr. Marshall Green, US Assis- tant Secretary-of-State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs describ- ed the treaty as of continuing importance in providing a frame- work of stability within which the nations of free Asia can pur- sue common goals of regional peace and freedom. In an interview published in the Melbourne Age, he stressed that as the sole, irreplaceable treaty commitment for the de- fence of Thailand, SEATO has importance not only for the United States Government and Thailand but for others in the area. Thailand, Mr. Green said, is the core country of South- east Asia. The former ambassador to Indonesia stated that the up- holding of United States com- mitments, specifically including SEATO, is a key element of the Nixon doctrine- the guiding principle of US policy towards Asia under which the nations of the region bear an increasing share of responsibility for their own security. He drew attention to the reaffirmation of the US commitment to the alliance by Secretary of State Rogers at the SEATO council Meeting in Can- berra last June. After a Viet-Nam settlement, the US as a Pacific power will continue to have important in- terests throughout the Western Pacific area. Our military pos- ture will be keyed to this consi- deration, said Mr. Green. We have had a U.S. military advisory and assistance group stationed in Thailand since the signature of our bilateral agreement on nilitary assistance in October, 1950. Our assistance programme, which helps strengthen Thailand's defence capabilities, will be main- tained. At this time the larger group of U.S. military personnel is stationed there with Thai Go- vernment approval in connection with Indochina hostilities. These deployments to Thailand and supporting activities would of course be scaled down in the event of a Viet-Nam settlement and in any case, are constantly reviewed in consultation with the Thai Government to assure a military presence appropriate to the situation at hand. The United States acknow- ledges that with the passing of time the SEATO structure and emphasis may have to be chang- ed to reflect changing circum- stances. Re-shape, reform it maybe it should be more low key, have a lower posture. But don't scrap it. Any scrapping of SEATO would be seen not only by Thailand but by all countries in the area as a decline in resolu- tion by Australia, Britain and the U.S., Mr. Green added. 0

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