§ 17. Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will hold consultations with the United States of America with a view to enlisting American support, political and financial as well as military, for the Five Power arrangements agreed at Kuala Lumpur for the future defence of Malaysia.
§ Mr. FoleyIt would not be appropriate for the United Kingdom, one of five participants in the Conference, to take such an initiative.
§ Mr. GriffithsIn congratulating the hon. Gentleman on having his new post, may I ask him whether, in view of the importance of the talks which were recently taking place in Kuala Lumpur, he would agree that it is essential to associate the Americans with the defence arrangements which were made there? How else would they be credible, and in what way will they fit into S.E.A.T.O.?
§ Mr. FoleyI thank the hon. Gentleman for his kind remark. I think that if he will examine again the communiqué after the Five-Power Conference, he will see that they are matters primarily of adjustment among the Commonwealth 21 countries concerned. Clearly this is a first step in discussing the new situation when we withdraw from the Far East. S.E.A.T.O. has been informed and is aware that this is a first step in these discussions.