Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-14
SEATO's Limitations

Although it can add materially to the
security of the free world, the projected
Southeast Asia Treaty ganization-when
and If it becomes an operating real1ty-ls
likely to be relatively modest undertaking
At any rate, at least in its initial phase, 1t
will have limitations of kind that ought
to be recognized now lest the peoples OF the
countries involved get an exaggerated no.
ton of it and expect it to accomplish over
night miracles.
One of the limitations is midas atti-
tude. Prime Minister Nehru, seeking to
walk a tightrope of neutrality, has made
clear that he does not want to have any
thing to do with SEATO. Indeed, he is
opposed even to the idea of saying word
about it at the forthcoming meeting OF the
Colombo powers, which include-in addition
to his own country-Indonesia, Ceylon,
Burma and PakiStan. His justification for
this negativism is that the establishment
of such project by preSuppoSing the ex-
iStence of an enemy, would offend Commu-
mist China and thus increase tension in
Asia.
This view may seem to be extremely
unrealistic, but the fact remains that Mr..
Nehru is man of outstanding influence in
his part of the world. And as result, with
the exception of Pakistan, the other Co
lombo powers will almost certainly follow
midas lead in declining to join in the for
nation of SEATO. Accordingly, since For
mosa South Korea and Japan are also out
of the picture at the present stage, the
treaty-writing conference for the proposed
alliance will be far from all-incluSive. AS
just announced by the State Department,
participation will be limited to Pakistan,
Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, the Phil
ippines, France Britain and the United
States.
Clearly enough, with great parts OF
nom Communist Asia thus ASSOCIATED from
the beginning phase Of the project, SEATO
even, though designed to serve an identi-
cal defensive purpose against the threat OF
Red aggreSsion-does not promise to have
at the start anything comparable to the CO.
hesive strength of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization. Thus, assuming that the ALL
ance is formed, it will initially embrace at
most only two or three Far Eastern coun-
tries, none of them strong. BY way Of con-
trast, the Atlantic Community NATO-has
since its inception included virtually the
whole of free Europe, plus Canada and our
own country, and it has been naturally
equipped to develop genuinely formidable
political, economic and military power.
It would be self -delusion to ignore or
minimize this great difference between the
existing NATO alliance and the yet-to-be-
founded SEATO. Certainly, in terms OF
geographical cohesiveness, political expert
ence, industrial capacity, military where
withal, and common cultural or religious
interests, the organization of an effective
defensive system in free Asia involves prob
lens far more difhcult than those encoun-
tered in promoting the mutual security OF
free Europe and the Atlantic Community
as whole.
Yet, with that said, there can be no
doubt that the free world needs something
very much like SEATO. After all, even
though such an alliance would have to
make its debut on limited and quite i'm
perfect basis, the very fact Of its formation
could help to deter aggression, and it could
be built up over the years to point where
even countries like India might be per
suaded to join. In any event, to do nothing
about It would be to tempt Peiping and
Moscow to embark on new adventures
southwark in Asia and the Western Pacifis.