Cablegram 516 NEW DELHI, 30 December 1948, 10.05 p.m.
SECRET
My telegram 513. [1] Indonesia.
I had the opportunity of a talk with Bajpai this morning. The question of an Asian conference was not brought up nor did he volunteer any reference to the possibility of a breach of diplomatic relations with the Dutch. He did say, however, that the Indian Government as a next step hoped to arrange for Asian countries to register their point of view in a joint [approach] [2] to the Security Council. Terms in which the Indian Government propose that this might be cast will appear from our immediately following telegram which recites the text of a message they are sending off to their diplomatic representatives in Egypt, Turkey, Burma, Nanking, Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Ceylon. Bajpai explained the exclusion of Siam by saying that they were invertebrate; he dismissed the Philippines as being under the influence of the United States. He was critical of the attitude of the United Kingdom as K.P.S. Menon had been earlier in the week.
Bajpai asked whether Australia would participate in the above action by sending its own message in similar terms to the Security Council. I said I would refer the matter to you. He has requested Bedi to approach you on the same point. During our discussion I recalled the Australian statement to the Security Council which, you should know, has given rise to much gratification here.
Bajpai did not indicate what the reaction of the countries India is approaching was likely to be, remarking only in general terms that some Asian countries were behaving the right way about Indonesia and that others were not. it was impossible to ascertain in the latter context whether he was referring to other than the Philippines and Siam.
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1 Dispatched on 29 December, it reported that Indonesian representatives from Singapore, Burma, Pakistan and Kabul were in Delhi awaiting the outcome of the reference of the Indonesian dispute to the United Nations. With the failure of the Soviet resolution the Indian Foreign Ministry were contemplating the possibility of an Asian conference.
2 The word ‘approach’ has been corrected from a copy on file AA :
A5009/2, A7/3/13, ii.
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[AA : A1838, 403/3/1/1, xx]