May I, first of all, join with previous speakers in offering to Mr. van Kleffens my sincere congratulations on his election to the presidency of this high Assembly. His is an arduous task, for the problem of peace is intricate and complex, and, as he has so well said, “we are seated no longer on a mere keg of powder, but on a thermo-nuclear bomb” [473rd meeting]. The conciliatory atmosphere infused into our proceedings by the Secretary of State of the United States is, however, a good augury for our deliberations.
35. There is no war in the world today. That is fortunate and gratifying. But neither is there peace. Even in Korea and Indo-China there are only armistice agreements.
36. Peace to the people of Thailand is not a mere cessation of hostilities; it must be a positive state of welfare. We call it santisukh, which means, “happiness in tranquillity”, because peace to us must be peace with freedom and justice, leading to prosperity. It is, in fact, peace in the sense of the Charter of the United Nations, that is to say, peace as a state of security, free from war, in which freedom and justice prevail so that the economic and social advancement of all peoples may be promoted.
37. The activities of the United Nations are, therefore, manifold, as is indicated by the sixty-seven items on the agenda of the present session of the General Assembly. They are all calculated to strengthen the fabric of peace in the comprehensive way contemplated by the Charter.
38. So far as Thailand is concerned, however, our preoccupation has necessarily, in view of the situation obtaining in that part of the world, to be concentrated on the problem of the maintenance of international peace and security.
39. Thailand yields to none in its devotion to peace, its dedication to the purposes and principles of the United Nations and its scrupulous observance of its obligations under the Charter. It has no aggressive designs of any kind. It wishes only to be left alone to promote social progress and better standards of life in greater freedom, in co-operation with other like-minded nations, whether within or without the United Nations.
40. My country is as eager as any other country to see the world enjoy peaceful coexistence. Thailand has never been a closed country; it has readily welcomed relations with foreign nations, whether of Asia and Africa or of Europe and America. Its religion, Buddhism, is well known for its tolerance, and foreign missionaries have received from the Government of Thailand not only facilities for the propagation of their faith but even lands for their churches, schools, hospitals and other institutions of humanitarian work. Economic and cultural relations have also been welcomed while, in the political field, Thailand has stood and still stands for international co-operation and for the conciliatory settlement of disputes by peaceful means.
41. My country, like other Asian countries, felt the impact of imperialism during the colonial period, but, through territorial cessions and extra-territorial concessions, we managed to preserve our independence and finally, after long and laborious negotiations, we managed to recover our full sovereign rights.
42. The great lesson that we have learnt from our experience in international relations is the inestimable value of tolerance, which is a disposition, if need be, to agree to differ or a willingness to let live or let alone.
43. The Charter of the United Nations, in all its wisdom, has laid down the true condition for peaceful coexistence. “To practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours” says the Charter.
44. The Thai people are lovers of freedom. The name “Thai” means “free”. Their free way of life is akin to the democratic way, into which it is being developed, and is repugnant to the communistic way. There are very few Thai Communists. In a population of 18 million, however, there are some 3 million Chinese, who form an industrious community engaged in trade, business and commerce. Fortunately, they are now loyal to the Nationalist Government, but there have been and there are infiltrations of Communist agents among them. There are also about 50,000 Viet-Namese refugees in the Thai border provinces along the Mekong, and here, too, there have been and still are infiltrations of Communist agents among them.
45. The Thai Government, therefore, has had to watch closely for any movement of Communist expansion in the Far East.
46. In the case of Communist aggression in Korea, Thailand, as a firm supporter of the United Nations, was among the first to respond to the United Nations appeal and to furnish both economic and. military assistance to the Republic of Korea in order to help repel the armed attack upon it and to restore international peace and security in the area. The people of Thailand realize the true significance of the United Nations principle of collective security; the United Nations, they know, will come to the help of any nation, great or small, which is the victim of an armed attack constituting a breach of the peace.
47. This principle of collective security is considered by my Government to be a fundamental one, and I had occasion to emphasize its importance at the Geneva Conference. I also upheld the role of the United Nations in the supervision of genuinely free elections, which were considered indispensable for the establishment of a unified, independent and democratic Korea.
48. The Government of Thailand considers that, as peace is world-wide and hence one and indivisible, every problem of peace should be a United Nations problem or, at any rate, a problem which can be raised at any time in the United Nations. In this connexion I wholeheartedly agree with the wise observations made by the Secretary-General in the introduction to his annual report [A/2663). If I think that the United Nations should be kept in the picture in connexion with every problem of peace, it is because o£ the lesson to be derived from the failure of the League of Nations. By acting outside the League of Nations, the great Powers weakened both the League and themselves, so that when the crisis came the League was impotent and the great Powers were powerless to stop the Second World War. If the great Powers act within our world Organization, they will have the support of the small Powers and also the force of world public opinion behind them. The General Assembly is not a debating society, as is sometimes asserted, but a form of world public opinion.
49. At any rate, so far as Thailand is concerned, we shall rely on the United Nations for any problem of peace which we may have. It is the determined policy of Thailand to promote and strengthen peace in its part of the world. My Government, besides developing friendly relations with countries in South-East Asia generally, has attached the greatest importance to the development of close co-operation for peace with its immediate neighbours. A border police arrangement, therefore, exists with Malaya. When Burma was faced with the problem of the existence of irregular Chinese troops within its borders, my Government readily helped in the evacuation of such troops.
50. With regard to Thailand’s immediate neighbours to the east, namely, Laos and Cambodia, they are so closely bound to my country by traditional ties, not alone of friendship but also of affinity and kinship, that it is only natural for my Government to develop the closest co-operation with them. A similar policy on the part of my Government applies to Viet-Nam.
51. Viet-Minh activities, however, not merely by means of subversion but even by the actual invasion of Laos and Cambodia with material and political support from outside Indo-China, created a situation which constituted a threat to the security of Thailand, the continuance of which was likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security. Large-scale fighting had repeatedly taken place in the immediate vicinity of Thai territory; there was, in the view of my Government, a possibility of direct incursions of foreign troops into its territory. The whole world was well aware of the tension in the area and of its dangerous potentialities, which required precautionary measures for protection against war. Therefore, in the opinion of the Thai Government, it was essential for the United Nations to have authentic and objective observation and reports, and my Government accordingly brought the situation to the attention of the Security Council in a letter dated 29 May 1954 [S/3220], and requested that the Security Council provide for observation under the Peace Observation Commission.
52. After considering the matter, the Security Council voted [674th meeting] upon the draft resolution submitted by the representative of Thailand [S/3229] with the following result: nine votes in favour, one against and one abstention. As the one negative vote was that of a permanent member of the Security Council, action by the Security Council was thus frustrated.
53. In a letter dated 7 July 1954 [A/2665]. my Government then proposed for inclusion in the agenda of the eighth session of the General Assembly an additional item entitled “Request of Thailand for observation under the Peace Observation Commission”. After the conclusion of the armistice agreements for Indo-China, however, my Government did not press for a resumed session but, in a letter date 20 August 1954 [A/2708], reserved its right to raise the question, if need be, during the ninth session. It still reserves this right.
54. The armistice agreements for Indo-China provide for a cessation of hostilities. We may congratulate ourselves on that provision and on the actual cessation of hostilities; my Government’s only wish is that the armistice agreements will function smoothly.
55. One happy result of the agreements is that Laos and Cambodia are now sovereign and independent and, as they are peace-loving States which accept the obligations contained in the Charter and are able and willing to carry out these obligations, Thailand wholeheartedly supports their admission to membership in the United Nations.
56. With regard, however, to the general situation in the area in so far as the international security of Thailand is concerned, I am obliged, on behalf of my Government, to express our grave concern. My Government has reason to believe that preparations are being made for large-scale Communist infiltrations from Yunnan through Viet-Minh into Thailand in order to subvert the Government of my country.
57. The question of aggression already has the attention of the United Nations but not yet the question of subversion, which constitutes a real danger for my country and for other countries. The question of subversion in. all its aspects should, therefore, be studied so that it may be considered by the General Assembly at a later session.
58. In view of the danger of Communist expansion to which Thailand is exposed, the Thai Government has long been interested in a peace or security arrangement for South-East Asia. I say “a peace or security arrangement”, because what South-East Asia needs is more than a mere common defence arrangement; it needs an arrangement for peace with freedom and with economic and social well-being.
59. Thailand has arrived at this conclusion because it has previously tried other forms of peace pacts, such as non-aggression treaties, which, however, did not work in the Second World War.
60. The defensive character of the South-East Asia Collective Defence Treaty, signed at Manila in September 1954, is made plain by its provisions. It is a regional arrangement for common defence within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations and subject to the ultimate responsibility of the United Nations. What is worthy of notice is that the Treaty deals not only with the danger of aggression but also with the danger of subversion.
61. The positive aspects of the promotion of freedom and of economic and social well-being are made even clearer in the Pacific Charter, which is due to the happy initiative of the Philippines. Therein the principle of self-determination, self-government and independence is upheld in unequivocal terms, as well as the principle of co-operation in the economic, social and cultural fields in order to promote higher living standards, economic progress and social well-being in the region.
62. The Manila Treaty is indeed an instrument of peace with freedom and economic and social well-being, but it does not supplant the machinery of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security; it is complementary and subsidiary thereto.
63. The Government of Thailand regards the United Nations not merely as the best hope for peace but as the only hope for peace and, in its hour of need, it is to the United Nations that Thailand will turn.