HC Deb 18 July 1966 vol 732 cc29-31
32. Mr. Marten

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent South-East Asia Treaty Organisation conference.

Mr. M. Stewart

I attended the 11th Council Meeting of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation which was held at Canberra from 27th to 29th June. A valuable consensus of agreement was reached on how the problems of the area should be faced and, as I told the House on 11th July, on the importance of the stabilising rôle the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation has to play in South-East Asia. At the meeting, I confirmed Her Majesty's Government's support for the Organisation and our determination to fulfil our obligations under the Manila Treaty.

Mr. Marten

Ought not the Government to go a little further than that and come out clearly with a strong determination to strengthen by our own contribution the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation?

Mr. Stewart

We made clear—I think that this was the sensible thing to do —that we stand by all our commitments under the treaty, but we do not propose to widen those commitments.

Mr. Emrys Hughes

Have we the military resources for the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation? Would it be possible, without conscription, to engage in large military expeditions to fulfil our obligations under the treaty?

Mr. Stewart

Yes, Sir; the treaty requires that, if circumstances arise in which it is invoked, each member country must decide what action is appropriate in the light of prevailing circumstances.

Mr. A. Royle

Will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that, if he is requested under the S.E.A.T.O. treaty by one of the other members of the Organisation to give military help in case of need, he wi11 carry out his obligation under the treaty?

Mr. Stewart

I have just said that the obligation under the treaty is for each country to decide what action is appropriate in the prevailing circumstances. It is not more definite than that.

Mr. Sandys

It was reported in the newspapers that the right hon. Gentleman, when he was in Canberra, had discussions with the Australian Government about the possibility of establishing British base facilities in Australia. If that is so, can he say in what circumstances he envisages that we might need those facilities?

Mr. Stewart

I shall not go into as many hypotheses as that. We did discuss this possibility as one of the circumstances that might arise.

Mr. Hugh Jenkins

Is it not a fact that S.E.A.T.O. does not include important nations in the area, and are not its decisions invalidated in some degree by that?

Mr. Stewart

It is true that it does not include important nations in the area, but its members are required in certain circumstances, in the event of attack on any members, to decide what appropriate action to take.