I have the honour to report that, in accordance with directions
contained in External Affairs telegram No.100 dated 28th February,
I have forwarded copies of the statement on foreign affairs made
by you in the House of Representatives on 26th February, 1947, to
Their Excellencies the Lord Killearn, His Majesty's Special
Commissioner in South East Asia, and the Right Honourable Mr.

Malcolm MacDonald, P.C., Governor-General of Malaya. Copies were
also forwarded to Their Excellencies the Governor of Singapore and
the Governor of the Malayan Union, and to each member of the
British Defence Committee in South East Asia.

2. Soon after receipt of the documents, Mr. MacDonald sent for me
and asked me to convey to you his very sincere appreciation of
your action in arranging for him to have a copy of the speech and
also of the substance of the speech itself. Similar requests have
been made by Lord Killearn, Sir Franklin Gimson, Governor of
Singapore, and Sir Edward Gent, Governor of the Malayan Union,
each of whom have requested me to express their pleasure at
receiving copies of the complete speech and the documents relating
thereto.

3. I would like to let you know that the general feeling is that
your suggestions are extremely opportune and each responsible
officer realises the possible far-reaching effects of the action
proposed in your speech. [1]

4. As no doubt you have gathered from my reports of the meetings
of the British Defence Committee in South East Asia, the
discussions have shown a keen realisation of the necessity in this
area for closer co-operation between the various political and
racial groups therein. At the present time, there is undoubtedly a
great awakening of the Asiatic peoples of Malaya and surrounding
countries. In some instances their aspirations are not clearly
defined, while in others they are setting out after a clear-cut
objective. In either case, the ultimate end will be the same-a
greater measure of independence and enlightenment in South East
Asia-provided that the peoples concerned are encouraged and are
made to feel that the Atlantic: Charter is not just so many words.

5. Discussions which I have had, particularly in the last few
months, with leading Chinese, Indians and, to a lesser degree,
Malays and Indonesians, have led me to the definite belief that
the time is opportune for the regional conference of South East
Asia countries referred to in your speech.

6. As your representative in this part of the world, I can assure
you that you may expect the wholehearted support of every senior
official, from the Governor-General downwards, in this area. I
believe you can also count on support of the countries which are
represented at the Special Commissioner's Liaison Officers'
meetings which are held month by month, and those countries which
have an interest at the moment in the British Defence Committee in
South East Asia.

7. My despatch covering a report of the 10th meeting of the
British Defence Committee in South East Asia has a bearing on the
matters referred to herein and will, together with previous
reports, give an indication of the earnestness with which the
problems of regional co-operation are being tackled here.

8. During my discussion with His Excellency the Governor-General,
he referred to his forthcoming visit to Australia, as did Lord
Killearn in discussions I had with him on Tuesday last, and they
both expressed the very keen desire that nothing would prevent
them meeting you for personal discussions at a date as early as
convenient to all concerned.