COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
SPEECH BY
The Rt. Hon. HAROLD HOLT, M. P.,
ON
MANILA SUMMIT CONFERENCE
Ministerial Statement
[ From. the.." Parliamentary Debates," 27th October 1966]
Mr. HAROLD HOLT ( Higgins-Prime
Minister).-by leave-Mr. Speaker, I report
to the House upon the Manila Summit
Conference from which I have just
returned. Following the Conference I have
made some comment in Manila and also
to representatives of Press, radio and television
who -were awaiting me on my return
last night at Mascot -Airport. All this has.
been widely publicised. Earlier today, I
tabled -in the House of Representatives the
official documents . which emerged from the
Conference. They. are . the Joint Communique
the Declaration of Peace and
Progress in Asia and the Pacific and The
Goals of Freedom I have mentioned these
facts because I believe it is not necessary
for me to go over all of the same ground.
It is proper, however, that there should be
on. the . record of the Parliament an authoritative
account of the Conference and its
results. I attended with my colleagues, the
Minister for External Affairs ( Mr. Hasluck)
and the Minister for Defence ( Mr. Fairhall)
and other members of the Australian official
delegation. This was in response to the
invitation which Australia received from the
14104/ 66 President of the Republic of the Philippines
after his consultations with the President
of the Republic of Korea and the Prime
Ministers of Thailand and the Republic of
Vietnam. This week history was made at Manila.
Sometimes we are too close to great events
to measure their significance. But time, I
suggest, ' will convince us all that the Manila
Conference was an event that helped to
shape contemporary history in our region
of the world. The leaders of seven nations
in the Asian and Pacific region met on
October 24th and 25th to review their wider
purposes in Asia and the Pacific. They
gathered together to chart a programme for
the peaceful and free development of a
great and changing area of the world. This,
remember, is also our part of the world
and we were there in Manila with our
Philippine friends, our Vietnam friends,
our Korean and Thai friends and our
American and New Zealand friends-all
of us looking to the future. The future is
expressed vividly and in a few words in
the Conference document " The Goals of
Freedom
Mr. Bryant--How is the word spelt?
Mr. HAROLD HOLT.-The document
recites that the goals are-
S to be free from aggression, to conquer
hunger, illiteracy and disease, to build a
region of security, order and progress, to seek
reconciliation and peace throughout Asia and the
Pacific. Does the honorable member for Wills, who
sneers at what I have been saying, challenge
any one of those objectives as being a right
and proper objectives for us? To him they
are just cliches. To some people they are
the very finest principles for which men and
women have fought and died through
history. These are not an empty set of
words. Although we were at Manila to assess the
military situation in Vietnam, our greater
task was this vision of the future. The participants
were President-Ferdinand Marcos
of the Philippines, President Park Chung
Hee of the Republic of Korea, Prime
Minister Thanom Kittikachorn of Thailand,
Chairman Thieu and Prime Minister Kao
Ky of the Republic of Vietnam, Prime Minister
Keith Holyoake of New Zealand, President
Lyndon Johnson of the United States
of America, and myself, representing Australia.
We had agreed to make a thorough
review of the Vietnam situation. This was
to include an assessment of the military
position and of continuing resistance to
Communist inspired and directed aggression
and subversion. We wished to look at the
piogresss being made through programmes
of social development and pacification, the
tasks of economic stabilisation and rehibilitation
and the evolution of democratic institutions.
It was part of our purpose to look at practical
means for peaceful settlement of the
conflict in Vietnam. Problems of regional
security, co-operation and development relating
not only to Vietnam but to Asia and
the Pacific generally were also to be examined.
The products of our discussions are
to be found expressed in some detail in the
three documents which I have earlier today
presented to the Parliament. They are the
" Joint Communique the " Declaration of
Peace and Progress in Asia and the Pacific
ahd " The Goals of Freedom
I have described the Summit Conference
as historic. There have been various meetings
in the past of Asian and Pacific Governments, a recent notable instance
being the Asian and Pacific Council
meeting, or A. S. P. A. C. as it has come to be
known, at Seoul in Korea where nine
Governments came together for discussions
on matters of common interest. But until the
Conference at Manila it was unprecedented
for Heads of State and Heads of Government
of seven countries in the Asian and
Pacific region to meet for a collective
purpose. The meeting was historic in that
. sense, but it was historic in even more
important ways. Only great issues can bring
such a meeting about in times when Heads
of Government are so busily engaged. The
issues in this case affect the security and
prospects for a better life of 15 million
people of South Vietnam. They closely
affect the future of the neighbouring
countries of South East Asia. They affect
the basic security of the whole Asian and
Pacific region. Indeed, the world as a whole
is involved in the consequences of the
outcome. These issues produced the meeting.
The documents express our particular
conclusions. I should like to say a word
about the Australian and New Zealand
participation in the meeting. I say with
gratification that each of the Asian Heads
of State or Heads of Government warmly
welcomed me and the Prime Minister of
New Zealand, Mr. Holyoake, into their
counsels. This is a very important factor in
the approach of the Asian ' countries to the
Conference and, even more, to the Vietnam
issue. I mention this and stress it because I
have heard honorable members opposite say
so often that our participation in Vietnam
is alienating Asian opinion against us. Here
is evidence to the contrary. Honorable
members and all Australians will be
interested to note the words of welcome that
President Marcos accorded our parficipation
and that of New Zealand in this Conference.
He said-
The participation in this meeting of the Prime
Ministers of Australia and New Zealand is also a
hopeful augury. These two freedom loving nations
are our neighbours by the accident of geography
but our friends and partners by deliberate'choice.
They are as fully committed as ourselves to the
freedom of Asia and to the attainment of the
secure and just peace indispensable to the economic
development of these combined nations. They have
much to contribute to the attainment of our
common goals.
The opening speech was made by President
Marcos at a public ceremony. It set the
stage for the confidential discussions which
were to follow. In an eloquent and memorable
address he expressed with deep personal
conviction. a ' longing of the Asia' people
for.' ocial and economic stability and for
freddom from insecurity and military
threat. This. theme,' with particular emphasis
on the' problems ' of'Vietnam, became the
focus ' of the . Summit Conference activity.
It is this'theme that finds expression in the
communique . the declaration, and notably
in the statement of. the Goals of Freedom':
The language of official documents, however
warmly and graphically stated, for
understandable reasons can rarely reproduce
the atmosphere of a conference or its full
significance, or the contacts between the
personalities who participate. As one who
not only was present throughout the Conference-
proceedings but also shared, in ' the
intimate discussions . of those Conference
meetings confined to the participating Heads
of State and IHeads of Government,: I regard
this as being'as important a conference
as I:. have. ever ' attended or . believe myself
everlikely to attend. ' I can recall no conference
in' which agreement. was more readily
forihcoming on all niatters'of substance.. I
have read various ieports since the Conference
which' alleged that there were delays
because of wrangling and that there. has been
surprise' that documents of . such weight
could emerge from so limited a period of
discussion. " There was no wrangling in our
talks together., There'. was strength of purpose;
firmness' bf resolution and dedication
to the principles that we expressed in our
declaration and the statement of our Goals
of Freedom As to surprise, it must not
b'e overlooked that our discussions together
neither began nor ended at Manila. The
Governments represented are in almost daily
contact by one means or another, including
diplomatic representation, cabled advices
and the like. We are familiar ' with each
others' : views. The Foreign Ministers had
met informally and had done some useful
ground clearing immediately prior to the
Conference. Later they did their share of
the work of drafting while the Heads of
Government went ' ahead with their own
ideas of what the c6ntents of the documents
should be. It is not to be wondered at that
a good deal of'time was required for these
purposes and the exchanges of thinking until at a final meeting together the Heads of
Government and Foreign Ministers produced
the documents in the forms they ultimately
took. The communique deals principally with
the situation in Vietnam and the problems
of the present and the future there in the
military, social and. economic fields. The
declaration of peace and progress in Asia
and the Pacific sets out the principles on
which we base our hopes for future peace
and progress in the Asian and Pacific region,
for, as the declaration states-
. In the modern world men and nations have no
choice but to learn to live together as brothers.
The " Goals of Freedom" express briefly,
and in language that all should be capable
of understanding, the essence of our declaration.
We said there-
We, the seven nations gathered in Manila,
declare our unity, our resolve and our purpose in
seeking together the goals of freedom in Vietnam
and in the Asian. and Pacific area.
It struck me as quite remarkable that the
representatives of the Republic of Vietnam
should be able, to accept so explicitly and
however regretfully a continuing line of
demarcation between North and South Vietnam
until a decision had been taken democratically
by the people of both areas for
reunification. They. stated that the work
of the constituent Assembly elected to draw
up a constitution for the Republic of Vietnam
was proceeding ahead of schedule.
They gave an undertaking that general elections
to select a representative government
wduld -be held within six months of the
adoption of a , constitution. Believing that
the democratic process must be strengthened
at the local level as well as the national
level, the. Vietnamese leaders announced
that, to this end, village and hamlet elections
would -be held. at the beginning of 1967.
They further announced that they are preparing.
a programme of national reconciliation.
They would, open all doors to
Vietnamese who had been misled or'coerced
into casting their lot with the Vietcong. They
would , be given . amnesty and assisted to
resume -a .: normal existence as to their
employment and community participation.
,. Further, the Vietnamese representatives
made it clear that they were not making
any demands on North Vietnam other than
that the aggression should cease. When it
is considered that the Republic of Vietnam
is still subjected daily to military and terrorist
attack, with continuing infiltration
and eternal subversion, the attitude of the
Vietnamese representatives at the conference
must be regarded as most helpful and
forthcoming: The Vietnamese leaders stated
their intent to train and assign a substantial
portion of their forces to what are
termed " clear and hold actions in order
to provide a shield behind which a new
society can be built. The tactics of search
and destroy" so frequently employed by
the allied forces in the past have been
found by experience to be inadequate for
satisfactory follow up action of reconstruction,
civic action and pacification. This is
because the civilian Vietcong remain in the
area to commit acts' of terrorism and sabotage'
after the military forces have moved
on. Illustrations were given to us of the
construction of'schools in the wake of the
departure. of Communist military forces,
only td be followed by . the physical destruction
of school buildings by individual Vietcong
or small. marauding bands drawn from
the civilian element of the Vietcong. It is
now proposed. thai the clearing operation
should. be more thorough and that a military
component capable of securing the area
should be assigned to enable civic action
and rehabilitation operations to be carried
through with enduring benefit.
The Government of the Republic of Vietnam
wishes to forge what is described in
the communique as a social revolution of
hope and progress. Even as' the conflict
continues;, the effort goes forward to overcome
the tyranny of poverty, disease,
illiteracy arid'social injustice."
Dr. J. F. Cairns.-After 20 years.
Mr. HAROLD HOLT.-The present
Prime Minister of Vietnam has been fighting
for more than half his lifetime to preserve
his ' coiuntry and he deserves something
better than the snees' of ; the honorable
member for ' Yarra. Top priority is to be
given to land reform and tenure provisions.
Agricultural credit is to be expanded; crops
will be' improved and diversified. The
leaders recognise that to build confidence
and co-operation amongst the people they
must be convinced that honesty, efficiency
and social justice form " solid cornerstones
of the Vietnamese Government's programme. The participating governments
applauded these. declarations, recognising
that they open' brighter prospects for the
people of Vietnam. Each undertook to give
its continuing assistance according to its
means, whether in funds, skilled technicians
or equipment. The Vietnamese appreciated
the help being given in non-military fields
by other countries and expressed the hope
that this help will be substantially increased.
The participants further agreed to appeal to
other nations and to international organisations
working for the full and free development
of all nations to give further assistance
to the Republic of Vietnam.
We devoted a good share of our discussions
to peace objectives, reviewing the
many efforts for peace -already undertaken.
What is sought ' is a just and reasonable
solution; but Hanoi has still shown no sign
of taking any step towards peace, either by
action or by entering into-discussions or
negotiations. I know that recently reference
has been made to rumours or to some feeble
peace signs that seem to be ' emerging. I
know of none that can be attributed directly
to Hanoi. We all agreed that the search for
peace must continue. The. Vietnamese
representatives pointed to the suffering they
had experienced from the ravages of war
for more than 20 years. They. declared
themselves to be' second ' to none in their
desire for peace and would welcome any
initiative-that would lead to an end to
hostilities while preserving the independence
of 3outh Vietnam and protecting. the right
of its people to choose their own way of
life. The detailed views of the Government of
the Republic of. Vietnam are set out in the
communique. The other participating
governments endorsed these as essential
elements of peace and agreed that they
would act on this basis in close consultation
together. We pointed out that Allied forces
are in Vietnam because that country is the
object of aggression and in response to the
support requested by its Government. We
agreed that our troops would be withdrawn,
after close consultation, as the other side
withdraws its forces to the north and ceases
infiltration and the level of violence
subsides. Our forces will be withdrawn as
soon as possible, not later than six months
after the conditions mentioned are fulfilled.
My own contribution was designed to
indicate our sense of partnership with our
allies, our awareness of the great common
issues at stake and our determination with
our allies to.. see the issue through. I spoke,
of course, against the. background of the
views which had been offered by early
speakers-President Marcos and Chairman
Thieu at the public session, and Air Vice-
Ma'rshal Ky in private session. Separate
statements on particular aspects of the Vietnam
situation were made by members of
that coritry's delegation. There were
* military reviews by Gejieral Cao Van Vien,
Chief of the General Staff in Vietnam, and
General," Westmoreland,.. Commander,
United States Military Assistance Command,
Vietnam. Others spoke. on the civic action,
revolutionary development and rehabilitation
programmes.
I said at the time I had no need to go
over ground already covered, beyond confirming
the , Australian Government's clear
recognition of the military realities and the
vital issues at stake. I expressed our belief
that Vietnam is, unhappily for its people,
a battleground for not only its own national
security, freedom and integrity, but of even
wider issues-issues of freedom, security
and progress affecting generally the future
and stability of all free peoples in the Asian
and Pacific regions. I spoke of aggression
as an age old enemy of mankind-a challenge
to be taken up and defeated just as
poverty, disease and hunger, other age
old enemies, are to be taken up and
defeated. I expressed the view that it would
be useful to seek to build up world opinion
more widely against the aggression which
now manifests itself through tyranny and
oppression in Vietnam.
There are many countries throughout the
world which seem more indifferent than is
desirable or wise. This is not necessarily
a question of seeking military assistance by
other groups or individual countries. It is
important to secure a wider acceptance of
our narrow but essential objectives in Vietnam,
and also a widening of the economic
effort for the development of Vietnam, both
immediately, so far as this is practicable,
and after the fighting has terminated. I
assured the Conference of my Government's
determination that the Australian
Government would conduct itself as a
dependable ally, continuing its contribution
on both the military. and non-military sides. I mentioned specifically the. aid which . we
have been: giving on the medical, engineering
and education fronts.
, Plainly, while the fighting continues, it is
not practicable for' us. and others to give,
or for Vietnam to receive, more than the
level of assistance of a material kind that
albe abs'orbed.': But if peace could be
brought abolit, we and others would be in
a position to divert more resources to civil
rehabilitation and Vietnam would become
capable -of gaining rhore benefit from the
contributions that could be made.
* Mr. Speker, I have already said that
the, question of peace was given a great
deal of attention in the Conference itself
and, as honorable members will see, it
takes up quite. lengthy passages in the
Conference final documents. It was the view
of all of us that we not only stand ready
but, are, anxious to consider any possible
approaches to . a settlement, and in general
to enter into unconditional discussions at
any time provided that concessions prejudicial
to our basic objectives must not be
made. The peaceful settlement of the
Vietnam conflict must be just and enduring.
A settlement achieved at the cost of
freedom and security for the South
Vietnamese people would be unacceptable.
In the words of President Marcos, the
peace we want is not the peace of death or
the peace of betrayal. We want a purposeful
peace that will guarantee the option for
liberty and progress of the people of South
Vietnam and of all other peoples similarly
situated. This is why we have said in the
communique that we are united in our
determination that the South Vietnamese
people shall not be conquered by aggressive
force and shall enjoy the inherent right to
choose their own way of life and their own
form of government and that we shall
continue our military and all other efforts
as firmly and as long as may be necessary,
in close consultation among ourselves, until
the aggression is ended.
It was the view of all of us that only
when the other side realised that our countries
mean precisely what they say-that
there will be no weakening or flagging, that
all the necessary measures will be takenit
is only then that the other side will conclude
that the aggression will not succeed.
That conclusion on their part is the essential
requirement for. the bringing about of
peace. Whether peace is to be reached
through discussion and negotiations or
whether through a dwindling away of the
conflict, serious efforts will be maintained
through all avenues to bring the other side
to peace. Part of the peace effort is convincing
them, through our teadiness of
purpose and our capacity and readiness to
meet force with force, that aggression will
not succeed.
The benefits I derived were not confined
to the results of. the Conference itself,
highly successful though, in my judgment,
they were. The venue, of the Conference
provided me with m' first visit to the
Philippines. I had not previously met
President Marcos nor had I previously met
President Park Chung Hee of the Republic
of Korea. It will be helpful in my future
contacts and discussions to have built these
new friendships and to have further consolidated
those already made with the other
Chiefs of State and Heads of Government. Let it be understood that we are not
engaged in Vietnam because we want to
roll back the fro'ntiers of Communism, but
because we do not want the frontiers of
Communism to roll back down over South
East, Asia.' But ' always we must see the
conflict in Vietnam in its greater context
as a battleground for human values of
freedom and dignity. All ' Asia looks today
at the future of free choice in South
Vietnfni. If it is preserved-and it will bethe
basic future and stability of all free
peoples-' in the ' Asian and Pacific regions
Wfill, I believe, be guaranteed. And this -is
a prospect equally important to us in
Australia, and indeed to the whole world.
I present the following paper-'
Manila Summit Conference-
Ministerial Statement, 27th October 1966-
and move-
That the House take note of the paper.
BY AUTHORITY: A. J. ARTHUR, COMMONWEALTH GOVERNMENT PRINTER, CANBERRA, A. C. T.
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