§ 66. Mr. Blakerasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the recent meeting in Manila of the Council of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation.
§ Mr. Anthony RoyleThe conclusions of the meeting are set out in detail in the 121W final communiqué, a copy of which is being placed in the Library of the House. Briefly, the Council reviewed with special attention the situation in Cambodia, and expressed the conviction that Cambodia's desire for neutrality must be the basis of a settlement. The Council regretted that North Vietnam had not responded to any of the numerous initiatives to achieve a peaceful settlement in Indo-China by negotiation and hoped this attitude would change. It noted the steps taken to develop at S.E.A.T.O. headquarters an office for counter-subversion and counterinsurgency better able to assist member-governments in this field. And it warmly welcomed Her Majesty's Government's proposal to maintain a military presence in the Malaysia-Singapore area as part of a Commonwealth force subject to the wishes of the countries concerned.