tures and ways of life. The members of the Council therefore restated their firm belief that, while military preparedness to meet armed aggression is an essential element in the work of the Treaty Organization, a true and complete defence against aggression in its broadest sense must be found in the minds and spirits of men. For this reason a significant part of the effort of the Treaty members has been, and is being, directed towards mutual support in the economic, educational and cultural fields. This effort has the positive objectives of strengthening the sense of community throughout the Treaty Area and of developing conditions in which its people will enjoy their freedom to the fullest extent and will therefore hold to it the more resolutely. The Council also emphasized the importance which Treaty members placed on maintaining and developing good relations with other countries of the area which although not members of the Organization, had the same interest in the preservation of their independence. COUNTER-SUBVERSION The Council noted that further improvements have been made during the year in the arrangements for thorough and up-to-date joint study of subversion and insurgency, which are at present the preferred Communist tactics in the Treaty Area, and for exchanging views on the most effective methods of countering these activities. In this connection special note was taken of the usefulness of the Second CounterSubversion Seminar held in Lahore in February and of the continuing work of the Committee of Security Experts." MILITARY DEFENCE 6 The Council expressed satisfaction with the progress reported by the Military Advisers. Their work on planning and military exercises constitutes a re-assurance that SEATO will be able successfully to resist aggression. The Council commended the efforts of the officers and men who participated in the exercises of the past year. The Council placed on record its appreciation of the outstanding services rendered the Organization by Brigadier L. W. Thornton, C.B.E., of New Zealand, who is completing his tour of duty as Chief, SEATO Military Planning Office, and welcomed his successor, Maj. Gen. J. G. N. Wilton, C.B.E., D.S.O., of Australia, and Commodore S. M. Ahsan, S.Q.A., D.S.C., of Pakistan, the newly-appointed Deputy-Chief, Military Planning Office. ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION In the field of economic co-operation there has been substantial progress reflected in such projects as: For the communiqué issued Nov. 29, 1957, at the conclusion of the first seminar, see the Department of State Bulletin, Dec. 23, 1957, p. 993. * Established at the first meeting of the SEATO Council; see American Foreign Policy, 1950-1955: Basic Documents, pp. 2334–2337. The SEATO Graduate School of Engineering in Bangkok, which is expected to provide much needed talent essential to the economic development of South-East Asia; The SEATO skilled labour projects in the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan, which are developing essential skills in short supply in the Treaty Area; The area-wide SEATO meteorological communications project, which has moved forward as a result of a survey team visit to Pakistan, Thailand and the Philippines. This project would bring about improved radio communications, greater safety for air travel, and a reduction of typhoon damage and crop and property losses by providing advance warning of weather conditions. The Treaty Area being heavily dependent on a few valuable staple crops, the Council approved a United States proposal to study the possibility of establishing an Institute of Tropical and Sub-Tropical Agriculture, which would seek means of preventing diseases that threaten those crops, and of developing greater agricultural diversification. It was also agreed that the SEATO Cholera Research project in Thailand 10 be converted to a SEATO Medical Research Laboratory which would contribute to the eradication, not only of cholera but also of other diseases. The Council agreed that the Committee of Economic Experts should be entirely free to discuss on a technical and advisory basis relevant economic problems of member countries, bearing in mind the established functions of other international agencies. Decisions on such matters will be left to the Council Representatives or to Member Governments. CULTURAL ACTIVITY During the past year, SEATO awarded a large number of Research Fellowships, Professorships, Post-graduate and Undergraduate Scholarships, and Travelling Lectureships." In view of the effectiveness of this programme in bringing about a greater understanding among people of the SEATO nations, the Council decided to continue these activities during the coming year. It looked forward with expectation to the Conference of Heads of Universities, scheduled to be held early next year, to be attended by eminent educators from both SEATO and other Asian countries. 8 Established at the fourth meeting of the SEATO Council; see American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, pp. 1116-1119. Established at the third meeting of the SEATO Council; see ibid., 1957, pp. 1099-1102. 10 Established at the fifth meeting of the SEATO Council; see ibid., 1959, pp. 1153–1156. "This program was established and expanded at the third, fourth, and fifth meetings of the SEATO Council; see the preceding footnotes. SECRETARY-GENERAL Appreciative references were made to the outstanding services of the Secretary-General His Excellency Mr. Pote Sarasin, and it was decided to ask him to continue in office until the conclusion of the 1963 Conference. The Secretary-General accepted. EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE The Council expressed its gratitude to the Government of the United States for its hospitality and the excellent arrangements made for the Conference. The Meeting closed with a warm vote of thanks to the Chairman, the Honorable Christian A. Herter. NEXT MEETING The Council accepted with pleasure the invitation of the Government of Thailand to hold its next meeting in Bangkok in March 1961. LEADERS OF NATIONAL DELEGATIONS The leaders of the national delegations to the Council Meeting were: The Right Honourable Robert Gordon Menzies, Prime Minister of Australia The Honorable Felixberto M. Serrano, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Mr. Thanat Khoman, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand The Right Honourable Selwyn Lloyd, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom The Honorable Christian A. Herter, Secretary of State of the United States THE SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF SEATO: Message From the President of the United States (Eisenhower) to the Special Commemorative Meeting of the SEATO Council, Bangkok, September 8, 1960 12 B. Consultations Under the ANZUS Treaty [NOTE: No consultations were held during 1960.] 12 White House press release dated Sept. 8, 1960; the Department of State Bulletin, Sept. 26, 1960, pp. 499-500. 690-494-64 -46 C. The Colombo Plan THE TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE COLOMBO PLAN: Statement by the Secretary of State (Herter), Issued January 13, 1960 1 1 "MY GOVERNMENT IS THINKING LESS AND LESS IN TERMS OF SHORT-TERM ‘AID' AND MORE AND MORE IN TERMS OF 'ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT"": Statement Made by the U.S. Representative (Achilles) at the Twelfth Ministerial Meeting of the Consultative Committee on Cooperative Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia, Tokyo, November 16, 1960 2 D. Relations With Certain Countries and Concerning Certain Problems of the Area THE CHINA AREA [THE NEED FOR COMMUNIST CHINA TO BE A PARTY TO ANY GENERAL DISARMAMENT AGREEMENT: Reply Made by the President (Eisenhower) to a Question Asked at a News Conference, February 11, 1960-Post, doc. 328] 305. UNITED STATES SUPPORT OF APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SELF-DETERMINATION TO TIBET: Message From the Secretary of State (Herter) to the Dalai Lama, February 20, 1960 3 3 YOUR HOLINESS: Thank you for your letter to me dated January 5, 1960.* As you know, while it has been the historical position of the United States to consider Tibet as an autonomous country under the suzerainty of China, the American people have also traditionally stood for the 1 Department of State press release No. 11; the Department of State Bulletin, Feb. 1, 1960, p. 171. 'Department of State Bulletin, Jan. 2, 1961, pp. 31-34. The ministerial meeting was held Nov. 14-17. 3 Department of State press release No. 89, Feb. 29, 1960 (text as printed in the Department of State Bulletin, Mar. 21, 1960, p. 443). 'Text ibid. principle of self-determination. It is the belief of the United States Government that this principle should apply to the people of Tibet and that they should have the determining voice in their own political destiny. Sincerely yours, His Holiness The DALAI LAMA CHRISTIAN A. HERTER 306. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ISLANDS OF QUEMOY AND MATSU IN DETERMINING UNITED STATES POLICY IN THE CHINA AREA: Reply Made by the President (Eisenhower) to a Question Asked at a News Conference, May 11, 1960 (Excerpt)5 If you go back to the Formosa doctrine, you will find that the responsibility is placed upon the President to determine, in the event of any attack upon Quemoy and Matsu, whether this is in fact a preliminary to or part of an attack against the Pescadores and Taiwan. If that is true, then he must participate because then it will be the defense of Formosa, one of our allies. Now, as to the actual value of Matsu and Quemoy, of course we must remember how much this seems to mean to the morale of all the Chinese forces on Formosa. From their viewpoint, any desertion of those islands means a complete surrender-abject surrender. So, it is a factor that anyone who is going to have to make possible decisions in the future has to take into consideration when he talks about the abandonment of these sets of islands. And frankly, no President of the United States can do it by himself. Now, he can withhold support to Taiwan, but are you going to destroy Taiwan? So, none of these problems is ever a simple, black and white thing. You have got a very great number of conflicting considerations, and they take study and heart-searching, and you hope and pray that you are right most of the time. Б The reply printed here is taken from p. 409 of Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1960–61. I.e., P.L. 4, 84th Cong., approved Jan. 29, 1955; text in American Foreign Policy, 1950-1955: Basic Documents, pp. 2486-2487. |