Cablegram UNP50, CANBERRA, 26 October 1948, 6 p.m.
IMMEDIATE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL
Your 113. Administrative Union.
Proposed Indian resolution may be regarded as reflecting fact that India is not a member of the Trusteeship Council and accordingly has taken insufficient account of discussion on Administrative Union in Third Session of the Council.
2. Indian delegation should be reminded that all aspects of the matter, including points raised in their resolution, were gone over in long and careful detail by the Trusteeship Council. At that time, even though there is nothing in the Charter or the New Guinea Trusteeship Agreement which requires it to do so, the Australian Government in deference to Council’s wishes held its hand on implementation of its plans for Administrative Union. The Government’s programme has now been considerably delayed and we now feel we must go ahead with it. The Trusteeship Council has noted our repeated assurances that Administrative Union will not destroy the separate identity of the Trust Territory. Information on the ‘Questions of fundamental importance’ mentioned in the Indian resolution was furnished in great detail to the Trusteeship Council and there is little to be gained from any further investigation at this stage. In our view the only investigation which could serve any purpose would take place in the event that the legality of proposed union were referred for determination to the International Court, as suggested by some members of the Trusteeship Council, but you need not necessarily raise this point with the Indians at this stage.
3. It should be made clear to the Indians that the Trusteeship Council has been assured that it will be kept fully informed in annual reports regarding the progress of the implementation of the Administrative Union and that moreover it will be in a position to observe this implementation at first hand through its visiting mission which will probably visit the Territory in 1950.
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[AA : A1838, 169/10/1, I]