the course of wisdom. The inability of the Council to act because of a Soviet veto does not alter this fact. We will consult overnight with other members of the Council about further steps which the United Nations might take, and we reserve the right to seek a further meeting at any time. (U.S.-U.N. press release 3900; the Department of State Bulletin, Jan. 22, 1962, p. 149.) ]

INDONESIA

471. INDONESIAN-UNITED STATES "DISCUSSIONS ON A WIDE RANGE OF MATTERS OF MUTUAL INTEREST": Joint Communiqué Issued at Washington by the President of the United States (Kennedy) and the President of the Republic of Indonesia (Sukarno), April 25, 1961 43

President Kennedy and President Sukarno completed today in Washington a series of discussions on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. First Deputy First Minister of Indonesia, Johannes Leimena; the Secretary of State, Dean Rusk; Indonesian Foreign Minister Subandrio; the Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, John M. Steeves; the United States Ambassador to Indonesia, Howard P. Jones; and Indonesian Ambassador to the United States, Zairin Zain, participated in the discussions.

The two Presidents welcomed this opportunity to renew their friendship and to reaffirm the spirit of cooperation and confidence which has characterized the relations between their two countries.

The two Presidents discussed the recent emergence of the new nations in Asia and Africa. Both Presidents welcomed the newly found freedom of these countries and agreed that their genuine aspirations can best be fulfilled through mutual cooperation both within and without the United Nations. Both Presidents recognize that these new countries must be alert to any attempts to subvert their cherished freedom by means of imperialism in all its manifestations.

44

President Kennedy stated that the Indonesian Eight-Year Development Plan provides further opportunity for the two nations to work together. He offered to provide the services of a top-level economic team to consult with their Indonesian counterparts regarding the best way in which the United States might assist in achieving the goals of this plan.

Both Presidents expressed gratification at the high degree of cooperation between their countries and noted, in illustration, the successful visit to Indonesia of the hospital ship, the SS Пope, sponsored by the People-to-People Health Foundation.

43 White House press release dated Apr. 25, 1961 (text as printed in the Department of State Bulletin, May 15, 1961, p. 713). President Sukarno made an informal visit to Washington, Apr. 24-25, 1961, at the invitation of President Kennedy.

44 Begun Jan. 1, 1961, at an estimated cost of $5.3 billion.

Both Presidents recognize that the disarmament problem must be considered in relation to the general world situation. Both men agreed that the successful conclusion of a treaty ending nuclear tests, while not in itself a solution to the problem of disarmament, would be a first and most significant step.

Both Presidents strongly and unreservedly support the goal of a neutral and independent Laos.

Both Presidents expressed pleasure that President Sukarno's travel schedule had provided an opportunity for them to meet for this informal and worthwhile exchange of views.

472. THE UNITED STATES POSITION ON THE QUESTION OF WEST NEW GUINEA: Statement Made by the U.S. Representative (Bingham) Before the U.N. General Assembly, November 22, 1961 (Excerpt) 45

The dispute over the territory of West New Guinea provides this Assembly with a great challenge and an unusual opportunity. I shall not attempt to review the tangled history of this dispute nor presume to pronounce judgment on the conflicting claims of the Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands. However, hopefully the barren confrontation of claims and counterclaims is nearing its end. Provided the Assembly acts with judicious realism, this territory may soon cease to be a focus of international disputation. Indeed, it may well serve as a model for responsible decolonization.

My Government regards as imaginative and constructive the initiative which the Government of the Netherlands has taken in proposing its relinquishment of control over West New Guinea, with a United Nations administration for an interim period. The basic condition set by the Government of the Netherlands is that the inhabitants of the territory be afforded the right to exercise freedom of choice with regard to the ultimate disposition of the area. The position of the United States on the principle of self-determination is well known, and we perceive no valid reason why an appropriate expression of the will of the people should be denied the inhabitants of West New Guinea.

On the other hand, while we welcome the general nature of the Netherlands proposal, in our opinion the Netherlands draft resolution" represents completely the point of view of its sponsor and does not sufficiently recognize the intense Indonesian interest in the territory. We believe that there is no purpose to be gained by attempting to ignore, as does the Netherlands draft, the claim of Indonesia to sovereignty over the territory the latter calls Irian Barat. The As

U.S.-U.N. press release 3851 (text as printed in the Department of State Bulletin, Jan. 8, 1962, pp. 69-76). For other portions of Mr. Bingham's statement, see ante, doc. 52.

See U.N. doc. A/4954. 47 U.N. doc. A/L.354.

sembly should, in our view, not be asked to accept either the Dutch claim to sovereignty or the Indonesian claim. Whatever it does should be without prejudice to either side. In the light of the dispute that exists, the proper course, in accordance with the United Nations Charter, would seem to be to assure the people of the area an opportunity at the proper time to express their own choice as to their political future, under the aegis of the United Nations.

In order to assure this result, we believe that any resolution adopted by the Assembly should make perfectly clear that the administration of the area would be turned over by the Dutch to the U.N. by a certain date. The conditions for the transfer would be laid down by the 17th General Assembly, after receiving the recommendations of a small commission comprised of disinterested member states.

We believe that such a U.N. administration, leading to the expres sion of choice by the people of the area, should provide to Indonesia every reasonable opportunity to pursue its objective of achieving the integration of West New Guinea with Indonesia. During the interim period, Dutch control would have been ended and an impartial U.N. administration would be in complete control. We would assume that under such an administration Indonesia would have access to the area. We do not believe that the proposal of the delegation of India ** offers a definitive solution to the problem we confront. Much as we would like to see a reconciliation of the views of the Netherlands and Indonesia on this matter and much as we would welcome friendly discussions between the disputants, we would point out that similar proposals for simple bilateral negotiations have been presented here before and rejected. We believe any resolution on this matter must take into account the new developments which are represented by the expressed willingness of the Netherlands to relinquish its control over the territory to the United Nations.

Moreover, in our view, adoption of a simple appeal to the parties to negotiate would amount to rejecting, or at least ignoring, the idea that the people of the area should be given the right of self-determination. Indeed we note with sorrow that the draft resolution offered by the Indian delegation makes no mention of the people of West New Guinea and it seems to accept the notion that their political future can, and indeed should, be settled by others without taking their views into

account.

The right of self-determination is a basic right under the charter and under Resolution 1514. The distinguished representative of India, Mr. Krishna Menon, in effect stated here the other day that he could not accept the idea of a U.N. commission since this would be tacit acceptance that the sovereignty of the area was open to dispute. But that is precisely the case: Indonesia claims sovereignty, and its claim is supported by a number of delegations, including India. But the Netherlands also claims sovereignty, and its claim is likewise supported by a number of delegations. Thus, this would seem to be a case in

48 U.N. doc. A/L.367.

49

Of Dec. 14, 1960; text in American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1960, pp. 110-111.

which the principle of self-determination is entirely appropriate and indeed offers the only practical and just way out of an impasse which has now continued for more than a decade.

One final point: We have every reason to hope and believe that the Indonesian Government can and will accept the idea of self-determination for West New Guinea, provided that the administration of the process is impartial and provided that Indonesia would have every appropriate access to the area. We believe that it would clearly be in Indonesia's interest to accept the prospective Dutch withdrawal from West New Guinea and then to pursue Indonesia's objectives through peaceful means.

[NOTE: Neither of the resolutions described in Mr. Bingham's statement was adopted, both failing to achieve the required two-thirds majority in votes taken Nov. 27, 1961. On Nov. 24, 13 of the African member states introduced yet a third draft resolution on the question of West New Guinea (U.N. doc. A/L.368), one for which the U.S. Representative voted on the ground that it combined the better features of the other two resolutions. This third resolution, too, however, failed of adoption. Its text read as follows

[The General Assembly,

[Recalling the principles set forth in its resolution 1514 (XV) adopted on 14 December 1960,

[Recognizing that the territory of West New Guinea is the subject of a dispute between Indonesia and the Netherlands,

[Believing that unless a satisfactory solution to this problem is found, the situation created by this dispute is likely to endanger international peace and security,

[Considering that a dispute of this nature can best be ended by a negotiated

solution,

[Believing that, failing an agreement between the parties, it is for the United Nations to implement measures calculated to bring about an equitable solution which will safeguard international peace and security,

[Convinced, furthermore, that any solution which affects the final destiny of a Non-Self-Governing Territory must be based on the principle of self-determination of peoples in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,

[1. Urges the Governments of Indonesia and the Netherlands to resume negotiations without delay with a view to reaching an agreement on the future of the territory of West New Guinea, without prejudice to respect for the will and self-determination of the peoples;

[2. Requests the Secretary-General to use his good offices in the negotiations by taking, in relation to the two Governments, all possible steps to facilitate the resumption and continuance of those negotiations;

[3. Decides to establish a commission composed of five members appointed by the General Assembly on the proposal of its President;

[4. Requests the Secretary-General to inform that commission of the result of the negotiations by 1 March 1962;

[5. Instructs the commission, if the parties have not reached a negotiated agreement by 1 March 1962:

[(a) To carry out an investigation into the conditions prevailing in the territory;

[(b) To examine the possibilities of establishing, for an interim period, an international system for the administration and supervision of the territory; [(c) To report to the General Assembly at its seventeenth session;

[6. Declares that nothing in paragraph 5(b) shall prejudice the right of the population to decide, in the last resort, the status of the territory;

[7. Requests the Secretary-General, in the case provided for in paragraph 5, to provide the Commission with the necessary staff, accommodation and admin. istrative services.]

JAPAN

473. JAPANESE-UNITED STATES "CONSTRUCTIVE AND FRIENDLY EXCHANGE OF VIEWS ON THE PRESENT INTERNATIONAL SITUATION AND ON RELATIONS BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND JAPAN": Joint Communiqué Issued at Washington by the President of the United States (Kennedy) and the Prime Minister of Japan (Ikeda), June 22, 1961 50

President Kennedy and Prime Minister Ikeda concluded today a constructive and friendly exchange of views on the present international situation and on relations between the United States and Japan. Secretary Rusk, Foreign Minister Kosaka, and other U.S. and Japanese officials participated in the conversations.

The President and the Prime Minister discussed various problems confronting the peoples of the world who are resolved to defend their freedom, and they reaffirmed the determination of the two countries to intensify their efforts toward the establishment of world peace based on freedom and justice. The President and the Prime Minister stressed that the common policy of the two countries is to strengthen the authority of the United Nations as an organ for the maintenance of world peace.

The President and the Prime Minister expressed their concern over the unstable aspects of the situation in Asia and agreed to hold close consultations in the future with a view to discovering the ways and means by which stability and well-being might be achieved in that area. Their discussion of the Asian situation included an examination of various problems relating to Communist China. They also exchanged views concerning the relations of their respective countries with Korea.

The President and the Prime Minister recognized the urgent need for an agreement on a nuclear test ban accompanied by effective inspection and control measures, agreeing that it is of crucial importance for world peace. They also expressed their conviction that renewed efforts should be made in the direction of general disarmament.

The President and the Prime Minister reviewed the world economic situation. They agreed on the need for continued close cooperation among the free countries of the world, particularly in promoting the growth of international trade and financial stability. They agreed that both countries should pursue liberal trade policies looking to an orderly expansion of trade between the two countries.

The President and the Prime Minister stressed the importance of development assistance to less developed countries. The Prime Minister expressed a particular interest in this connection in development assistance for East Asia. They agreed to exchange views on such

50

White House press release dated June 22, 1961 (text as printed in the Department of State Bulletin, July 10, 1961, pp. 57-58). Prime Minister Ikeda made an official visit to Washington, June 20-23, 1961.