Southeast Asian Defense Treaty Organization

1956 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-337

The second meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asian Defense Treaty Organization (SEATO) was held in Karachi, Pakistan from March 6 through 8, 1956, under the chairmanship of Hamidul Haq Chowdhury, Foreign Minister of Pakistan. The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of the eight member states: Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom and United States. In the communique issued at the close of the session, the Council maintained that SEATO had made a notable contribution to the maintenance of peace in southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific. Council members affirmed that their countries would never commit aggression and that their cooperation under SEATO was directed toward mutual defense and the maintenance of peace. In regard to political developments in southeast Asia, the Council noted with satisfaction reports of the steps being taken toward establishing full self-government and independence for Malaya within the United Kingdom, and the further progress in the development of free political institutions in the region, particularly in regard to Cambodia, Laos and the Republic of Vietnam which, although not members of SEATO, were under its protection.

1954 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-613

On September 8, 1954, representatives of the United States, United Kingdom, France, the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand signed the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, a protocol designating the areas to which the treaty was to apply, and the Pacific Charter, a declaration setting forth the aims of the eight countries in southeast Asia and the southwest Pacific. Negotiations leading up to the actual signature of the treaty had been underway throughout the summer of 1954 and had culminated in an eight-power conference in Manila which opened on September 6.


1966 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 859-863

Tenth meeting: The tenth meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was held in London on May 3–5, 1965, under the chairmanship of Michael Stewart, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom. Other member governments were represented by Paul Hasluck, Minister for External Affairs of Australia; D. J. Eyre, Minister of Defense of New Zealand; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan; Librado D. Cayco, Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines; Thanat Khoman, Minister of Foreign Aflairs of Thailand; and George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State of the United States. Achille Clarac, French Ambassador in Bangkok and Council representative for France, also attended the London session as an observer. (On April 20 the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs had announced that France would not send a delegation to the meeting although Ambassador Clarac would be present as an observer only.)


1954 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 399-400

The ANZUS Council held its second meeting in Washington, D.C., on September 9 and 10, 1953. While the first meeting of the Council had been devoted largely to organizational matters, the second meeting provided an opportunity for the foreign ministers of Australia, New Zealand and the United States to review the developments of the past year and to discuss common problems in the Pacific area. Prior to the opening of the meeting, there had been speculation in the press about the possibility of providing some form of associate membership in ANZUS for other countries — particularly the United Kingdom – and other international organizations. The United Kingdom was reportedly dissatisfied with its exclusion from the organization; Prime Minister Churchill had been quoted as telling the House of Commons on June 17 that he “did not like the Anzus Pact at all” and that he hoped that “perhaps larger and wider arrangements could be made which would be more satisfactory than those now in force”. According to the communique issued at the close of the meeting, however, the ministers “unanimously concluded … that to attempt to enlarge its membership would not contribute directly and materially” to the strengthening and defense of the ANZUS area. The communique pointed out that ANZUS was one of a number of arrangements for the furtherance of the security of the nations of the area; specifically the communique mentioned the mutual security pacts between the United States and the Philippines and Japan, United States defense understandings with the government of China on Formosa and the relationship of Australia and New Zealand with the other Commonwealth nations. Together, the communique noted, these arrangements ‘constitute … a solemn warning to any potential aggressor and represent the growing foundation for lasting peace in the Pacific”.


1960 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 361-362 ◽  

The Council of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) held a special informal meeting in Washington, D. C., on September 28, 1959. According to the press, five of the pact's members, Australia, France, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United States, were represented by their foreign ministers, several of whom were in the United States for the opening of the fourteenth session of the UN General Assembly, while the Philippines and the United Kingdom were represented by their ambassadors to Washington. The proceedings were, as usual, closed to the public. At the conclusion of die meeting, the Council issued a communiqué noting, inter alia, that there had been no formal agenda and views had been exchanged on a wide variety of topics, including the uneasy military situation in Laos, a country located within the region of direct interest to SEATO and yet not a member of the organization, inasmuch as it was forbidden by the Geneva treaty of 1954 to join any military alliance. With regard to Laos, the communiqué asserted that the SEATO member nations were united in their determination to abide by their treaty obligations and would continue to follow closely any developments threatening the peace and stability of the treaty area.


1957 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-572

The third annual meeting of the Council of the Southeast Asian Treaty Organization (SEATO) was held in Canberra, Australia March 11–13, 1957, under the chairmanship of R. G. Casey, Minister for External Affairs of Australia. The meeting was attended by representatives of Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and United States. In the communiqué issued at the close of the session, the Council stated that its plans to consolidate and enhance its previous progress provided for 1) maintenance of the defensive capacity of the treaty members to deal effectively with armed aggression, 2) extension of the program to detect, appraise, expose and combat subversion directed from without, and 3) development of the economic resources of the treaty members, particularly the Asian member states, by measures inside and outside SEATO.


1953 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 428-429

The eighteenth ordinary session of the Council of the Arab League was held in Cairo, March 28 to April 9, 1953. The League members were, in general, represented by the heads of their diplomatic missions in Cairo although the Egyptian government was understood to have requested that each state send its foreign minister. Although the recommendations of the Council were not made public, they were understood to have covered such questions as west Germany's ratification of the reparations agreement with Israel, the economic boycott of Israel and the forthcoming visit of the Secretary of State of the United States (Dulles). At the close of the meeting, the assistant Secretary-General (Ahmed Shukairy) said that the question of the dispute between the United Kingdom and Egypt over the Suez canal zone had been discussed in the course of a general survey of political problems but that it had not been raised specifically. During the Council session a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Arab League states was called for April 3; however, the governments of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon declined to attend. There were some reports that their refusal stemmed from a disinclination to become involved in any disagreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom; however, officials in Lebanon denied the accuracy of the reports, saying that the meeting had been postponed because its principal purpose had been to consider political problems of the Arab world in the light of a report which the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia (Prince Faisal) was to make upon his return from the United States and Prince Faisal had not returned in time to hold the meeting as scheduled.


1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 142-143

Austrian State Treaty: On October 31, 1951, the Foreign Minister of Austria, Karl Gruber, transmitted to the representatives of the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and the Soviet Union in Vienna a note requesting these countries to reopen negotiations on the Austrian state treaty at the earliest possible moment. Subsequently, the United States High Commissioner for Austria, Walter Donnelly, stated that it was “consistent with the unswerving policy of the United States Government to terminate the occupation of Austria by means of a state treaty” and was “also in keeping with the statement of the Foreign Ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and the United States in Washington on September 14.” He added that the United States would continue to press for the conclusion of the treaty and withdrawal of troops from Austria, but would not withdraw until all the occupying powers were prepared to do likewise.


1956 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 340-343 ◽  

The seventh meeting of the Consultative Committee on Economic Development in South and Southeast Asia (Colombo Plan) was held in Singapore from October 17 to 21, 1955, attended by the original members (Australia, Canada, Ceylon, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, together with Malaya and British Borneo), and by representatives of more recent member countries, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, the United States, Burma, Nepal, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand. The United Kingdom announced at the meeting that it had decided to increase its commitment for technical assistance to Colombo Plan members to £7 million over the seven years beginning in April 1956, and the representative for the United States announced that his government had offered to establish in south or southeast Asia a center for nuclear research and training which would include a research reactor and a small power reactor. A communique issued at the conclusion of the meeting mentioned the increasing degree of self-help in the economic development of the region, and stressed the need to encourage private investment in the area. It was further announced that it had been decided at the meeting to extend the Colombo Plan, previously scheduled to end in 1957, until 1961.


1957 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 546-547 ◽  

The Council of the Baghdad Pact held its annual meeting in Karachi from June 3 through 6, 1957. Representatives were present from the five member countries—Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan and the United Kingdom—and the United States was represented by an observer delegation. The Council had been scheduled to meet months earlier, but Iraq originally refused to meet with the United Kingdom. At the opening session, presided over by Mr. Suhrawardy, Prime Minister of Pakistan, the Prime Minister of Iraq, Nuri es Said, was reported to have spoken forcefully about the dangers implicit in the problems of Israel, Algeria, Kashmir and Cyprus. Mr. Lloyd, Foreign Minister of the United Kingdom, was reported to have followed Mr. Nuri es Said's remarks with a speech in which he announced his government's offer of a contribution of £500,000 a year in cash and in kind for building up the minimum military infra-structure in member countries. The speeches of other delegates were reported to be noteworthy for their frank recognition of past weaknesses in the Baghdad Pact organization and the need to give it new effectiveness. In the course of the first session the United States formally accepted an invitation to join the Pact's Military Committee; and a United States military delegation headed by General Nathan F. Twining started participating in a separate concurrent meeting of the Military Committee. The United States thus became a member of the Pact's three main committees, but had still not become a formal member of the Pact.


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