Economic Commission For Asia And The Far East Research Articles

Evolution of population concerns: Reflections from the Asian and Pacific Population Conferences

The United Nations Seminar on Population in Asia and the Far East, held at Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955, focused attention on increasing population trends within the region covered by the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). The Seminar realized that the current rising population growth rates largely negated or probably even retarded the effects of national socio-economicprogrammes that provided an environment conducive to lowering birth rates. Interest in the region’s population gains was further stimulated by the establishment of the Demographic Training and Research Centre at Bombay, India, jointly operated by the United Nations and the Government of India. At the Centre’s inaugural conference it was suggested that the United Nations convene a regional conference on population. That proposal was taken up by the Commission in its resolution 28 (XV) of 13 March 1959 requesting the secretariat to organize an Asian population conference where experts could examine the major problems of planning for economic and social development arising from current and prospective trends in population growth, composition and geographic distribution. Consequently, in 1963, the First Asian Population Conference (APC) was held at New Delhi, with the Government of India providing host facilities. APC was established as a statutory organ of the Commission to be convened every 10 years to consider all aspects of population questions and, of their impact on economic and social development as mandated in Commission resolution 74 (XXIII) of 17 April 1967.

The Lapstone Experiment and the Beginnings of ASIO

Not nearly enough is known about the events which led to the establishment of the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) or its early operations.1 One crucial event was the clandestine experiment conducted by the Chifley Government during the conference of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) held at the Lapstone Hotel near Glenbrook in the Blue Mountains during the fortnight commencing on 29 November 1948. That experiment generated two contrasting reports one by Robert Hemblys Scales of the MI5 section of the UK War Office, and the other by John Burton, Secretary of the Department of External Affairs (DEA). Both reports are available in the Australian Archives.2 Neither has so far attracted much attention. This article

NOTES ON THE CHINESE MODEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Developing EconomiesVolume 12, Issue 1 p. 23-40 Free Access NOTES ON THE CHINESE MODEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT —Its Impact on and Influence from Foreign Economic Systems— Katsuji NAKAGANE, Katsuji NAKAGANESearch for more papers by this author Katsuji NAKAGANE, Katsuji NAKAGANESearch for more papers by this author First published: March 1974 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1746-1049.1974.tb00315.xAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat REFERENCES 1 Peijingshi-geming-weiyuan-hui, Xiezuo-xiaozu. Zhongguo shehuizhuyi gongyehua-de daolu [The road to China's socialist industrialization], Hongqi, 1969, No. 10. 2 Chen, K. I. The Outlook for China's Economy, Current History, September 1972. 3 Donnithorne, A. China's Economic System ( London : George Allen and Unwin, 1967). 4 Donnithorne, A.. China's Cellular Economy: Some Economic Trends since the Cultural Revolution, China Quarterly, No. 52 (OctoberDecember 1972). 5 Eckstein, A. Communist China's Economic Growth and Foreign Trade: Implications for U.S. Policy ( New York : McGraw-Hill, 1966). 6 Etzioni, A. A Comparative Analysis of Complex Organizations ( New York : Free Press, 1961). 7 Fazhan gongye bixu he fazhan nongye tongshi bingju [Develop simultaneously industry and agriculture], editorial, Jihua jingji, October 1957. 8 Galbraith, J. K. The New Industrial State, 2nd ed. ( Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1971). 9 Galbraith, J. K. A China Passage ( Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1973). 10 Hoffmann, C. Work Incentive Practices and Policies in the People's Republic of China, 1953–1965 ( Albany , N.Y. : State University of New York Press, 1967). 11 Howe, C. Wage Patterns and Wage Policy in Modern China, 1919–1972 ( Cambridge : At the University Press, 1973). 12 Ishibashi, K. ChūBgoku keizai kensetsu no shinhōBkōB [ New direction of China's economic construction], Ajia , February 1974. 13 Ishikawa, S. Impact of the Emergence of China on Asian-Pacific Trade, Paper presented at the Fifth Pacific Trade and Development Conference, January 1973. 14 S. Ishikawa, ed. ChūBgoku keizai no genjōB to tembōB [The present conditions and prospects of the Chinese economy] ( Tokyo : ChūBgoku-Ajia-bōBeki-kōBzōB-kenkyūB-sentāB, 1972). 15 Iwata, M. Hikaku shakaishugi taisei-ron [Comparative analysis of socialist systems] ( Tokyo : Nihon-hyōBron-sha, 1971). 16 Jinmin ChūBgoku, 1974, No. 1. 17 Kast, F. E., and Rosenzweig, J. E. Organization and Management: A Systems Approach ( New York : McGraw-Hill, 1970). 18 Kawata, T. TōBnan-Ajia o meguru keizai kankei to Nihon [ Economic relations in Southeast Asia and the position of Japan], Keizai hyōBron, June 1973. 19 Kojima, R. Tsuchi ni nezuku ChūBgoku keizai [ The Chinese economy rooted in the earth], Sekai , November 1972. 20 Koopmans, T., and Montias, J. On the Description and Comparison of Economic Systems, in Comparison of Economic Systems, ed. A. Eckstein ( Berkeley : University of California Press, 1971). 21 Kornai, J. Anti-Equilibrium ( Amsterdam : North-Holland, 1971). 22 Lange, O. Introduction to Economic Cybernetics ( Warsaw : PWN, 1965). 23 Masamura, K. Sengo Nihon no keizaishi-teki sōBkatsu [ A summary of economic history of postwar Japan], ChūBōB kōBron , August 1973. 24 Meier, G., and Baldwin, R. Economic Development: Theory. History, Policy ( New York : John Wiley and Sons, 1957). 25 Niwa, H. 1956-nen ChūBgoku sangyōB-renkan-hyōB suikei no gaiyōB [Outline of estimated input-output table of China, 1956] ( Tokyo : Institute of Developing Economies, 1970). 26 Parsons, T., and Smelser, N. Economy and Society ( London : Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1956). 27 Peking Review. 28 Riskin, C. Maoism and Motivation: Work Incentives in China, Bulletin of Concerned Asia Scholars, Vol. 5, No. 1 (July 1973). 29 Schurmann, F. Ideology and Organization in Communist China, 2nd ed. ( Berkeley : University of California Press, 1968). 30 United Nations, Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). Economic Survey of Asia and the Far East 1972, preliminary draft. 31 Wheelwright, E. L., and Mcfarlane, B. The Chinese Road to Socialism; Economies of the Cultural Revolution ( New York : Monthly Review Press, 1970). 32 Writers' Group of the National Construction Committee. ”Develop Simultaneously Large-Scaled and Medium and Small-Scaled Enterprises, Peking Review, 1970, No. 50. 33 Yamanouchi, K. ChūBgoku keizai o dōB miruka [What is happening in the Chinese economy] ( Tokyo : Nihon-keizai-shimbunsha,, 1973). Volume12, Issue1March 1974Pages 23-40 ReferencesRelatedInformation

CCOP technical bulletin

The Committee for Coordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in Asian Offshore Areas (CCOP) was established in 1966 as an intergovernmental body under the sponsorship of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). CCOP's main function is the promotion and coordination of planning and implementation of offshore geophysical and other prospecting projects on the marine shelves of the member countries, presently comprising Indonesia, Japan, the Khmer Republic, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Viet Nam, and Thailand.In 1968 the first volume of the CCOP Technical Bulletin was issued to publish scientific studies relating to marine geology and offshore prospecting for mineral resources, particularly accounts and detailed reports of the results of offshore surveys conducted through the medium of CCOP.

Financing the Lower Mekong River Basin Development

THE MEKONG RIVER bears to Southeast Asia much the same relationship which the great Mississippi bears to the central states of northern America. The eighth longest river in the world and the tenth greatest in the volume of water it carries, it rises in the snow-clad Tang-Ku-La mountains of the Tibetan plateau, flows generally in a southerly direction through China and the Indochinese peninsula, finally discharging into the South China Sea near Saigon. It traverses six countries: China and Burma in its upper reaches; and Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and the Republic of South Vietnam in its lower reaches. The lower Mekong referred to in this article is the section from the Burma border to the sea flowing through or separating the territories of the latter four countries; it has a length of 2,400 kilometers and drains an area of about 60g,0o0-square kilometers.* The significance of the Mekong to the states which share in it led over a century ago to the conclusion of international agreements, beginning with the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between France and Siam (Thailand) on August I5, i856. But concerted efforts for development of the river were undertaken only after the establishment of the Committee for Coordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin (The Mekong Committee) in I957 under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE).' Since then the entire outlook and motive force of development have undergone a radical change; in addition to the basin states twenty-six countries2 outside the basin, seventeen United Nations agencies,3 four foundations,4 and a number of private organizations,5

International Collaboration Concerning Southeast Asia

Following conventional usage, Southeast Asia is defined as the region consisting of Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, North and South Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. At present there is no organization to which all Southeast Asian nations belong. Regional economic collaboration is being obstructed or impeded by nationalism, national economic policies of autarchy, industrialization based on import substitution, and an un-ripened sense of regional identity. In view of the seriousness of the obstacles, regional bodies such as ASEAN should devote themselves to the promotion of practical projects and not aim for grandiose schemes which are beyond their present capacities to realize. Collaboration between two or three countries in the region should be encouraged. Encouraging progress is being made in the fields of education and training, which is not only important in itself but also builds confidence for other forms of regional collaboration. A plea is made for greater support from the developed countries, particularly from the major powers, for regional projects. Such support should, ideally, be accorded high priority in the aid policies of the developed countries. The collaboration between ASEAN and ECAFE (Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) is also seen as important, and could provide a valuable impetus to the growth of regionalism in Southeast Asia.

The Lower Mekong Scheme

In September 1966 the Mekong River flooded, causing enormous destruction and loss of life for 1500 miles between Burma and the South China Sea. In many places the river suddenly rose more than 40 feet, sweeping away houses and farms and leaving thousands of people homeless. This disastrous flood-the worst in living memory-destroyed one-third of the lowland rice crop in Laos, inflicted some $8 million worth of damage in Northern Thailand, and ruined rice fields throughout the low-lying areas of Cambodia and South Vietnam. A few months after the flood,9 U Nyun, executive secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) , told delegates to the Lower Mekong Committee meeting in Vientiane of the need to prevent similar catastrophies in the future. He said the flood had deepened the determination of all of us engaged in the Mekong effort to convert the wasted and destructive powers of the Mekong untamed, into a giant tamed and harnessed to the uses of mankind.1 The Committee for the Co-ordination of Investigations of the Lower Mekong Basin was established in 1957 by Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, under the aegis of ECAFE. Its task was the comprehensive development of the water resources of the Lower Mekong Basin. A survey in 1952 had described the potential of the Mekong in glowing terms, and this estimate was supported by the detailed report of the Wheeler Commisson in 1958. The Wheeler Commission recommended that immediate steps be taken to gather data about the river, and it suggested that special studies be made on such matters as fisheries, agriculture, irrigation, flood control and navigation. As soon as the necessary data were available, preliminary planning for important and promising reaches should begin. The Wheeler Report was accepted by the Mekong Committee, and in 1959 an administrative headquarters for the scheme was established in Bangkok. Then began the enormous task of gathering information from all over the river valley. Much of this work was related to a plan which had been approved by the Committee in 1957. This called for the construction of three large mainstream dams (Pa Mong, Sambor and the Tonle Sap

ECAFE: Working Group on Communications Aspects of Family Planning Programs

A summary of the report of a meeting of the Working Group on Communications Aspects of Family Planning Programs held in Singapore September 5-15 1967 is presented. 20 participants came from 13 member countries of the U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). There is discussion of the current status of communications aspects of family planning in the following countries: Ceylon China (Taiwan) Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Japan Korea Malaysia Pakistan the Philippines Singapore and Thailand. Both informal and formal communications are used and 2 of the most important objectives of the communications are to legitimize contraception and reinforce new knowledge and attitudes. Besides users of the program communications should be addressed to decision leaders special groups staff personnel of agencies professionals and educators. Indirect and direct media use is appropriate but a professional staff is necessary. Recruitment must be handled by fast-moving administrative machinery. Research and evaluation of the progress of communications efforts is important and the unit for that purpose needs a separate division.

Higher Education of Women and National Development in Asia

It is a truism that if half the people in a society have little or no participation in community life or responsible role in its institutions, such a society is not likely to be dynamic and progressive. Thus, in those nations which systematically exclude their women from the cultural and intellectual milieu, not only are the women retarded, but so, eventually, is the whole society. As Chombart de Lauwe has emphasized: Never before has the social status of women raised so many questions throughout the world, and never before has it appeared so clearly that the evolution of social structures is linked up with this question.' Recognizing the relationship of the status of women to national development in the emerging nations, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted two resolutions requesting the member states to study this question and to recommend measures to be incorporated in a long-term United Nations program for the advancement of women.2 Pursuant to these resolutions, the secretary-general called a seminar which was held in Manila, December 6-19, 1966. The seminar was organized by the United Nations in cooperation with the Government of the Philippines, under the program of advisory services in the field of human rights. Participants in the seminar came from countries within the geographical scope of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). For two weeks the participants, who included men as well as women, discussed the most urgent needs in their countries and the measures which could be taken by the United Nations to assist in the advancement of women. As the discussions continued, it soon became obvious that the one paramount need overriding everything else was an increase in educational facilities and opportunities for women on all levels, from primary school to the universities. With the exception of Japan, the participants freely ad. mitted that national development was seriously retarded in all areassocial, economic, political and cultural-by the high illiteracy among Asian women and the fact that higher education was available to only a small percentage of them. The lack of adequate educational facilities for males was grimly apparent, too, but the situation for females was much worse.

Public Enterprise as an Instrument of Development

This is a paper presented on 6th October, 1966 by the author at the tenth session of the Working Party on Economic Development and Planning, United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), which was organized by ECAFE with the co‐operation of the United Nations Public Administration Branch and held in Bangkok, Thailand, 3‐10 October, 1966. The author is the Head of the United Nations Public Administration Branch and concurrently the Senior Deputy Director of the Bureau of Technical Assistance Operations. The views expressed herewith are the views of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations.

Administrative Aspects of Family Planning Programmes in Asia: Report on a Workshop

A meeting of the Working Group on Administrative Aspects of Family Planning Programmes was held in Bangkok Thailand from 16 to 24 March 1966. It was organized by the U.N. Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) and the U.N. Development Programme in cooperation with The Population Council of New York. The objective of the meeting was to discuss family planning programme administration. The meeting was furthermore to focus on operational problems at local levels and not to include technical aspects such as training programmes or educational or communication methods in family planning or manufacture of fertility control supplies except in so far as they dealt with the central theme of the meeting: viz. family planning administration. The Working Group was attended by 23 participants working in the field of family planning in governmental and nongovernmental programmes. Participants were drawn from ten member countries of the Commission: Ceylon China (Taiwan) Hong Kong India Japan Republic of Korea Malaysia Pakistan Singapore and Thailand. A list of participants is appended. Representatives of the U.N. Specialized Agencies FAO ILO and WHO also took part. The Working Group was also attended by twelve experts working on problems relating to family planning of the Asia and Far East region. These experts were drawn from The Ford Foundation The Population Council the University of North Carolina The Swedish International Development Authority and the United States Agency for International Development. On 16 March 1966 the Working Group elected by acclamation the following officers: Chairman: Dr. Kamdhorn Suvarakitch (Thailand); First Vice-Chairman: Mr. Enver Adil (Pakistan); Second Vice-Chairman: Dr. V. T. Herat Gunaratne (Ceylon); Rapporteur: Dr. K. Kanagaratnam (Singapore). Dr. C. Chandrasekaran ECAFE Regional Demographic Adviser on Population Policy and Programmes acted as Secretary of the meeting. The Working Group discussed the Agenda in nine sessions held on 16-19 March and 22 March. On 21 March members of the Working Group visited the Photharam Family Health Research Project carried out by the National Research Council of the Government of Thailand with technical assistance from The Population Council New York. A visit to the Chulalongkorn Hospital was also made on 23 March to observe their IUD programme. The draft report of the Working Group was considered during 23-24 March and adopted at the concluding session. Following is a highly compressed summary of the final report prepared by Dr. Kanagaratnam. We are also indebted to Dr. Marshall Balfour Consultant to The Population Council for his help in preparing this version; and to Miss Dorothy Moses Chief Dvision of Social Affairs ECAFE for her kind permission to publish this account. (excerpt)

Economic and Social Council

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East: The nineteenth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) was held in Manila on March 5–18, 1964, under the chairmanship of Mr. Rufino G. Hechanova (Philippines).

THE POSSIBILITY OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

The long-heralded state of Malaysia was inaugurated on September 16, 1963, with the proclamation by Prime Minister Tengku Abdul Rahman of the Federation of Malaya. The inauguration of Malaysia was aimed at organizing' a sub-regional economic confederation in an area embracing the Federation of Malaya, Singapore, North Borneo, and Sarawak. It has long been argued that Malaysia would face many complex problems-political, social, and especially racial. If the new merged state develops steadily and achieves its envisaged economic objectives, then the new experiment could lead to the creation of a stable but small . economic sphere, with as its centre the Malayan peninsula. In a series of negotiations conducted in Tokyo and Manila Lrom June to July 1963 between the Federation of Malaya, the Philippines and Indonesia, the con~ept of Maphilindo I was made public. This development gave rise to hopes that co-operative relations might develop among the three countries with Malaysia as its centre. In connection with the problem of regional economic integration in Southeast Asia, it may be recalled that the idea of establishing an Organization for Asian Economic Co-operation (OAEC) was discussed by Asian countries prior to the 18th General Conference of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) held in Tokyo in March 1962. This idea, which envisaged the establishment of a 100se organization embracing all Asian countries affiliated with the ECAFE, was shelved at the Tokyo congress on the ground that the project was premature. It clearly proved the difficulty of establishing a joint organization embracing all countries in the region. But the concept of the OAEC is not completely forgotten. An

Problems of Regional Cooperation in Southeast Asia

Is regional cooperation feasible within Southeast Asia? The idea continues to have vitality, although most of the attempts to make use of the concept in this area have so far met with little apparent success. The Colombo Plan, SEATO, and the Bandung Conference are reminders only of the most prominent efforts to apply "regionalism" to the area. As early as 1947, the Burmese nationalist, Aung San, urged greater cooperation among Southeast Asian states, but his ideas had no lasting effect. And despite the many more formal proposals made since 1947, the area continues to be Balkanized. Yet today regional proposals seem to be proliferating and, for this reason, it is important that the obstacles to regional cooperation in Southeast Asia should be well understood. In 1961, the Association of Southeast Asia (ASA) was established, and the Malaysia plan, incorporating Malaya, Singapore, and the British Borneo territories, was put into effect in September 1963. In addition, and largely as a result of problems connected with the Malaysia proposals, "Maphilindo" was formed during June and July 1963. This is a loose consultative grouping of Malaya, the Philippines, and Indonesia. On a wider scale, there have been some proposals to organize an Asian Common Market; and the United Nations, through its Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), seems to be urging certain forms of regional economic cooperation in Southeast Asia.1

The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) with its headquarters at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was established in 1958 under resolution 67aA (XXV) of the Economic and Social Council. It is one of the four regional commissions of the United Nations, the other three, which were established much earlier, being the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) with headquarters in Geneva, the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) with Bangkok, Thailand, as its headquarters and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) at Santiago de Chili. The establishment of these regional commissions was a result of the need and desirability to decentralize United Nations activities, not only on a functional but also on a geographical basis.

Economic and Social Council

The resumed 32nd session of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), comprising the 1183d–1186th meetings inclusive, was held in New York on December 21 and 22, 1961, under the presidency of Mr. E. Penteado (Brazil). In the 1183d meeting Mr. Franzi (Italy) introduced a draft resolution proposing that the Republic of San Marino be admitted to the Convention on Road Traffic signed at Geneva on September 19, 1959. The resolution was adopted unanimously. The delegate from Afghanistan then submitted a draft resolution proposing the inclusion of the Mongolian People's Republic in the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE). The draft resolution was adopted with no dissenting votes. Resolutions inviting Switzerland's attendance in a consultative capacity at sessions of ECAFE and the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) were unanimously approved. A resolution was adopted maintaining the present membership of the executive committee of the Program of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees until the General Assembly had decided on the future of the Office of the High Commissioner. Mrs. Mironova (Soviet Union) explained her delegation's abstention on the vote for the resolution on the grounds that she saw no reason for the further existence of the executive committee, since all the camps for refugees in Europe would soon be closed and the refugees resettled. She expressed the Soviet delegation's view that the countries where the refugees were living could be made responsible for them.

ECAFE and Economic Cooperation in Asia

1. At the 16th session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE), held at Bangkok in Marchl960, a resolution was passed unanimously (Annex I) urging greater cooperation among countries of the ECAFE region in order to achieve accelerated economic and social development. This might well be regarded as a historic landmark: while regional cooperation had been taking place already in some measure through the forums of ECAFE and other international or regional bodies, never before was the desire for it voiced in such unambiguous and concrete terms. It is, therefore, appropriate and timely to study the past efforts and future possibilities of such cooperation.

Economic and Social Council

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East:The seventeenth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) was held in New Delhi, India, from March 8 to 22, 1961.1In addition to delegates from member countries there were observers present from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Republic, Yugoslavia, and West Germany, as well as from the United Nations specialized agencies and nineteen nongovernmental organizations. The main topics under consideration at the session were 1) the use of resources released through disarmament, 2) possible adverse effects on Asia of European economic groupings, and 3) the establishment of a regional petroleum institute. The question of fluctuations in commodity prices and the need for increased regional economic cooperation were also discussed. In presenting the report of the session, which was later approved, Mr. Sashichiro Matusui of Japan, the chairman of the drafting committee, noted that the Commission had heard statements by several delegates on the credentials of the delegation of Laos. The delegate of the Soviet Union, in particular, questioned the validity of the credentials of the delegation of King Savang Vatthana and contended that the delegation did not represent the “legal government” of Prince Souvanna Phouma. However, the committee examining the credentials of the Laotian delegation had found them in order.

Economic and Social Council

Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East: The fifteenth session of the Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) was held in Broadbeach, Australia, from March 9 to 19, 1959, under the chairmanship of Mr. Richard G. Casey, Minister of State for External Affairs of Australia.1 During the course of the session, new offers of financial aid to the Lower Mekong river development project were made: Canada offered $1,300,000 to pay for its undertaking of an aerial survey and mapping of the Lower Mekong basin; Australia offered $225,000 for equipment and training; and France promised an additional $102,500 beyond the $126,000 previously contributed. The Soviet Union also indicated that it was prepared to extend technical assistance to the Mekong project either directly or through ECAFE for power stations.

Soviet Policy in ECAFE: A Case Study of Soviet Behavior in International Economic Organization

A significant aspect of post-Stalinist Soviet foreign policy has been the flexibility and imaginativeness with which it has maneuvered in under-developed areas, particularly in the non-aligned nations of Southern Asia—Afghanistan, Burma, Ceylon, India, and Indonesia. This innovation involved a fundamental shift in tactics and must now be considered a prominent feature of Soviet foreign policy. The previous neglect of South Asia was occasioned by a preoccupation with the sovietization of eastern Europe, the imperatives of postwar reconstruction and economic expansion, and the rise of communist China; it may also be attributed, in important measure, to Stalin's underestimation of the role which the area might play in enhancing the international position of the Soviet Union. This aspect of Stalinism is now over. Since 1953, Soviet leadership has pushed its interests in South Asia with skill and vigor, both on a bilateral basis and within the framework of international organizations. Of late, the bilateral ventures have received careful attention in this country. Less systematic attention, however, has been devoted to Soviet behavior in international economic organizations. In this respect, the UN Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East (ECAFE) affords an excellent opportunity to investigate this phase of Soviet political behavior.