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Salient.The Newspaper of Victoria University College. Vol. 19, No. 4. April 6, 1955

Opinions Politic. .

page 3

Opinions Politic. . .

Tokio-Peking-New York Axis

Mr. Sefton Delmer, a much troubled man, probably knows as much as anyone about the superficial aspects of International affairs, but if he has any knowledge of subterranean politices he takes food care to keep it to himself. Thus he expressed naive surprise when Japan's Prime Minister told him that, if returned to power at the recent elections, one of his first actions would be to recognise the Government of Communist China and establish official relations with it.

The innocent Mr. Delmer likened this to the dropping on him of a minor atom-bomb. Why? Does he realty suppose that that attitudes of the American people towards Communism is also the attitude of Wall Street? If so, he is a very credulous gentleman. The fact is that the International lending houses of New York seized the first opportunity after V-J Day to finance the reconstruction of Japan's industry, and so here is a direct interest in restoring Japan's spheres of economic influence.

When president Eisenhower proclaimed that the American interest in Indo-China was to secure markets for Japanese goods, he gave the whole game away. Because of the prevailing climate of opinion In the United States, at the present time, no American Government would dare openly urge Japanese trade with Red China, but there is no reason why the Japanese Government should not do so on Washington's behalf. Such tactics are very old. There is already a substantial Sino-Japanse trade, which Wall Street undoubtedly wishes to see increased at Britain's expense. Nor can it be supposed that Wall Street is solely concerned with Japanese exports. If it was the progenitor and protector of the Bolshevist Revolution, might not it now possess some sort of secret agreement with Mao's China?

Moscow-Delhi Axis

There are some interesting clauses in the agreement between the Government of India and the Government of the Soviet Union for setting up a modern integrated iron and steel plant. This will have an initial capacity of one million ingots to be rolled into about 750.000 tons of rolled products. The plant will be designed with a view to eventual expansion to the capacity of one million tons of rolled products.

One such clause Is that the plant and equipment to be supplied from USSR are to be paid for in twelve Instalments, the rate of interest on the amount outstanding each year being calculated at 2½ per cent. Payments will be made in Indian rupees to be paid into a special account opened for this purpose In the Reserve Bank of India. Amounts thus credited to this account may be utilised for the purchase of goods in India and are to be fully convertible into pounds sterling.

Thus, presumably, it will be possible for the Soviet Union to import from Great Britain goods now forbidden for strategic reasons, simply by making use of the India backdoor.

Interesting, too, is the clause which provides for training of a sufficient number of Indian technicians both in India and the USSR so that Indian personnel may man the plant to the maximum "extent possible from the beginning."

Steel production will not be the only, or even the chief, lesson that the Indian technicians are taught. Although there is electoral shadow-fighting between the Indian Congress Party and the Indian Communist Party, no body can be in doubt as to which of the two is performing major services for the Soviet Union. Mr. Nehru's so-called "neutralism" is perhaps a far bigger menace to the West at the present time than would be an avowedly Communist Government in New Delhi.