Evening star., 1941-02-17
Envisions Closer Ties
With Australasia
Effects of War in South
Pacific on Our Interests
Considered
BIZ CARROLL BINDER.

Australia and New Zealand upon Great
| Britain for defense, as we'll as for a mar
ket for their primary products, accus-
| toned them to entrust most of the con-
duct Of their foreign relations to Great
Britain. Such independence of Britain
as was manifested tended to be in the
economic sphere. Although giving sub
stantial preferences to British goods and
immigrants, Australia, nevertheless, put
strict limits on the influx of both in order
10 safeguard its own superior standard
of living and develop its own economy.
Notwithstanding the facts that the
United Kingdom no longer is able to
extend to them the naval protection
they formerly enjoyed, and that they
now enjoy an equal status with the
United Kingdom in the British COM
monwealth of nations, Australia and
New Zealand largely continue to follow
the lead of London in the conduct of
their foreign relations. There is sur
prisingly little discussion of foreign pol
icy either in Parliament or in public and
private debate. There is less information
about foreign affairs in Australasian Pc
riodicals than in American newspapers
and magazines and, consequently, less
information about events abroad is pos
sessed by intelligent Australasians than
by intelligent Americans.
Nevertheless the beginnings of an in
dependent foreign policy are becoming
apparent in Australasia. The establish
ment of direct diplomatic relations be-
tween the United States and Australia
something the United States had long
desired but which Australia refused to
consider until last year-is such an in
dication. The recent exchange of min
listers with Japan - which, according to
gossip, was not favored by Great Brit
ain-is another.
There has even been demand by a
few citizens that Australia now ex-
change ministers with China-a sugges-
ton that would hardly have been con-
ceivable a few years ago.
If Great Britain should go the way of
France-a possibility that no Australian
of my acquaintance has ever been will
Ing to contemplate-this tendency un-
doubtedly would be greatly accentuated
1t would take the form of much more
positive approaches to the United States
than have yet been attempted, for only
by means of American aid could Aus
tralia and New Zealand hope to main
tain their independence in political and
economic order from which Great Britain
had been eliminated as a controlling
power.
In view of the inability of the United
States to absorb the surpluses of wheat,
meat, wool and dairy products which
Australia and New Zealand must sell
abroad in order to prosper, it is not easy
to see just how the United States, with
the best will in the world, could assume
the role of a PROSTATE Britain. This is
especially true because at the same time
it would be busily occupied trying to
prevent South American countries, with
similar export surpluses, from coming
under the economic domination of a vic
torious Germany. But the problem
would have to be faced in the interest of
the prosperity and the security of the
United States as we'll as of two friendly
peoples in the Southwestern Pacific.
Happily for all concerned, such an
appalling contingency is not at hand
1t is possible to proceed more deliber-
ately and advantageously with less
staggering problems, such as the i'm
provement of economic and political re-
lations In recent years the economic
relations of the United States and Aus
tralia have not always been as cordial
as was desirable.
Cynics suggest that the present wave
of cordiality toward the United States
and desire for closer political and eco
nomic ties will disappear if Britain wins
the war. Only the future will tell, of
course, but there are potent forces push
ing US closer together in a number of
respects, conspicuously in the matter of
political and military relations in the
Pacific.
The United States and Australasia
have many common interests and no
conflicting interests in the preservation
of peace and resistance to aggression in
the Pacific. The extent to which AUS
tralasia has come to rely on the United
States for assistance in resisting agrees
sion in the Pacific was demonstrated
when word reached the Australian public
that the United States feet had left
Hawaii some months ago. There was a
feeling approaching panic in many non
official quarters until it was ascertained
that the fleet was simply engaged in
maneuvers-not being withdrawn from
the Pacific.
Everything that the United States does
to strengthen its defense establishment
in the Pacific is greeted with enthusiasm
in Australasia and If the United States
should desire at any time to station a
part of its fleet in the Southwestern Pa
cif1c, it can count on obtaining whatever
cooperation it desires in the way of use
of bases, harbor facilities, ETC., from both
Australia and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Australia in particular has
been most eager to do nothing to provoke
Japan into warlike action. Until re-
Gently, there was a marked tendency in
some quarters to pursue policy of ap-
peasement toward Japan even though
appeasement had failed disastrously in
the empires relations with Germany and
Italy. Japan was formerly an excellent
customer for Australian wool and other
exports, so that, besides the natural de-
sire not to precipitate a war in the
Southwestern Pacific in addition to the
war in Europe, there was desire to keep
on good terms with a valued customer.
Scrap iron was sold to Japan as late as