§ 26. Mr. Roseasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what negotiations have been conducted in respect of a proposed new Anglo-American alliance in South-East Asia.
§ Mr. M. StewartNone, Sir.
§ Mr. RoseWould my right hon. Friend make it quite clear that any Press reports to that effect are incorrect? Will he make it quite clear that no such alliance is in fact contemplated and that it is the intention of Her Majesty's Government to extract themselves from South-East Asia as soon as the circumstances permit?
§ Mr. StewartThe British and United States Government are both members of S.E.A.T.O. As I have told my hon. Friend, there are no negotiations in respect of a proposed new Anglo-American alliance in South-East Asia and any reports which there may have been to the contrary effect are incorrect.
§ Mr. RankinIs my right hon. Friend telling us that under S.E.A.T.O. Britain and the United States have exactly the same obligations? Is it not the case that the United States' acceptance of S.E.A.T.O. is reserved?
§ Mr. StewartI was not suggesting that. I was saying, to make things quite clear, that there is this alliance in existence but that there are no negotiations in respect of any proposed new alliance.
§ Sir J. EdenSurely, apart from our association in the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation, both this country and the United States have a continuing and abiding interest in resisting, and determination to resist, Communist aggression and insurgence, wherever it might arise.
§ Mr. StewartYes, but the Question was not about interests. It was specifically about negotiations for a new alliance.