Canberra, 19 September 1963
751. Confidential Priority
Malaysia
We agree that if matter is raised further the correct approach should be firmness without unnecessary provocation and that Malaysians should, if possible, make the running, in response to Indonesian moves.
2. Obviously we would oppose firmly any challenge to Malaysian credentials. Territories concerned have decided freely to join with a member of United Nations, and there is no ground for rejecting the credentials of the legitimate government of such combined territory, nor for asserting that Malaysia, because of change of name and extension of territory, should have to apply again for United Nations membership. The precedent of the U.A.R. is in point.3
3. With regard to the right of the Secretary-General to conduct ascertainment, as requested by the parties to the Manila Accord, without prior authority of, or subsequent reference to, the General Assembly or the Security Council, our immediately following telegram contains text of briefing given to the Minister on this matter prior to his visit to Djakarta.4
[NAA: A 1838, 3027/9/1 part 1]
1 16 September. It reported on a discussion held that day between the Malaysian, UK, US and Australian delegations ‘on tactics to be employed to meet possible challenges’ to Malaysia in the opening days of the General Assembly.
2 17 September, reporting that the Indonesian representative spoke at the opening of the General Assembly that afternoon, pointing out that Malaysia’s representative was occupying Malaya’s seat in the Plenary Hall and that Indonesia felt ‘impelled to take exception to this procedural fait accompli’.
3 Following a plebiscite on 21 February 1958, the United Arab Republic was established by a union of Egypt and Syria. Both countries had been original members of the UN and continued as a single member. In October 1961, Syria resumed its status as an independent state and its separate membership in the UN. Egypt, maintaining the name UAR, continued to hold the seat in UN previously held in union with Syria. (The UAR became the Arab Republic of Egypt in September 1971.)
4 Not published.