Question of peace and stability in South-East Asia considered; item deferred to 1984.

Question of Peace and Stability in South-East Asia Considered; Item Deferred to 1984

THE question of peace, stability and co-operation in South-East Asia, first considered by the Assembly in 1980, was discussed on 14 and 16 November. As in previous years, no resolution was tabled. At the end of the debate, in which 19 countries participated, the Assembly accepted a proposal that the item be deferred to 1984. (The item on "The situation in Kampuchea' was dealt with in the UN Chronicle, 1983, No. 11.)

Debate

A number of countries participating in the debate welcomed the commencement of the process of dialogue between the three Indo-Chinese countries, on the one hand, and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, on the other, to settle their differences. The dialogue, which should be based on the principles of equality, mutual respect, non-interference from outside and peaceful coexistence, must be continued, they said.

Many countries mentioned that such a dialogue had received wide support at the Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries in New Delhi in March 1983, the Political Declaration of which had stressed the urgent need for a comprehensive political solution including the establishment of a zone of peace and stability.

Some States strongly criticized what they termed as "forces of imperialism and hegemonism' for their interference in the internal affairs of South-East Asian countries, for threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the three Indo-Chinese countries, and for their ambition to impose their diktat in the region. Some countries named the United States and China in that connection.

Albania maintained that "the Soviet social-imperialists shared with the United States and China the responsibility for the existing situation in the region'.

The United States was accused of making a bid to regain "a position of hegemony' in the region, for converting ASEAN into a military political bloc, for intensifying tension between the Indo-Chinese and the ASEAN countries, for considering the region as a zone of American interest and for increasing its military presence in the region. China was criticized for trying to achieve its "hegemonistic goals' in Indo-China.

A number of countries supported the proposals of the Indo-Chinese countries regarding a comprehensive settlement of the situation in South-East Asia made in February 1983 at their summit conference in Vientiane, and...