OUTLOOK SOUTHEAST ASIA

[Music] [Music] the Philippine Indonesia Malaysia Singapore [Music] the Republic of Vietnam Laos Cambodia Thailand and Burma these nine Nations comparable in area and population to the United States are creating individually and collectively a new era of security progress and Porter for Southeast Asian [Music] men and women enrich nations and pour large nations and small are putting aside the old idea of faceless Asian masses thrust into the twentieth century the people of Southeast Asia pursue a simple centuries-old dream a full stomach a roof over their heads a lifetime of peace the future that beckons the promise that it holds is the basis for a new outlook in Southeast Asia already a great vitality is gripping the area a young strong-minded generation is reaching out for progress in all forms of human endeavor in two eventful decades in 20 troubled years since the end of World War two these people have shed the chains of colonialism and become independent learning that with independence comes responsibility with progress comes sacrifice while guarding their own rights they have been careful to respect the rights of others Muslim Hindu Christian Buddhist the people of Southeast Asia pursue a life of gentleness that are so deeply ingrained that it is often mistaken for indifference for many nations the infant years of independence were a time of trial in the Philippines there was the communist dominated Hoop rebellion from 1945 to 1953 under the vigorous and resourceful leadership of Ramon Magsaysay the rebellion was checked and the freedom of the Philippines was preserved land reforms and government aid programs helped establish a new life and families could build that life free from fear [Music] Indonesia most populous of all the nations in Southeast Asia moved at one time under the stormy leadership of sakano to the very brink of communism as communist China's good friend and faithful ally the Indonesian leader became a leading spokesman for the Peking brand of world revolution in visits behind the bamboo curtain in talks with Joe and Lai Sukarno echoed the Peking line but in 1965 Indonesia's people turned against Chicano and Red China erasing the threat of a communist takeover in the island Empire today communism still covered Southeast Asia and terror is a favorite tactic aggression infiltration subversion are carried out again and again in this vital and strategic area weapons and ammunition captured in so-called bores of national liberation carry their own damning identification [Music] [Applause] made in communist China [Music] nations under fire have been strengthened and sustained by neighbors and allies in the free world troops from Australia New Zealand have come to the aid of the embattled Republic of Vietnam [Music] reinforcements from South Korea the Philippines and Thailand are represented also as these three nations witnessed their commitment to freedom and self-determination [Music] President Johnson makes America's participation very clear we seek no basis or territory Asia will provide its own leadership and we will cooperate with that leadership the United States has supplied more than 15 billion dollars in economic aid in the last 20 years shipments of food in the years after World War two spelled the difference between starvation and survival in Southeast Asia [Music] life still is hard and yet there is hope than progress where once no hope and progress impossible in Southeast Asia 80% of the more than 200 million people live in small villages and labor on primitive farm agriculture is the backbone of the economy and rice is the staff of life to further increase production science is going to work for the farmers in their fields helping to eliminate the pests that destroy crops seeking to ensure a richer fuller harvest dramatic advances are being made in the Philippines agricultural output has more than doubled in the last two decades and Thailand is today the fourth largest exporter of grain in the world throughout the region fields are fertile and the yield is abundant the remarkable growth in the final area of agricultural production is in striking contrast to the continuing agricultural problems of communist China ad North Vietnam the artisans of Southeast Asia have continued to be more important than factories to the economy of the region times may change but their place is secure and still industry is coming factories are opening as country after country takes its first steps toward modern technology [Music] the goal is to raise slowly and surely each nations standard of living Southeast Asia is an area rich in mineral wealth ranging from coal to tin iron ore to diamonds operations are difficult transportation a problem but the potential is there and men have begun to lay claim to it [Music] already in some cities and urban areas new industries are setting the tempo for an expanding economy in Southeast Asia the products of these factories are as many and varied as the countries in which they are located they are a beginning a symbol of what has been done and what can be done the jungles of Malaysia are rich in rubber trees and one out of every five workers in that country is engaged in the rubber industry [Music] the Republic of Vietnam Indonesia Cambodia Burma and Thailand have rubber industries of their own and their combined production makes up more than one half of the world's output ancient means of production are being altered to keep up with the demands of modern technology more and more Goods imaginative in their design unique in their manufacturer are being produced for greater numbers of people cheaper better faster [Music] the threads of freedom the throb of progress hold the promise of a limitless future for Southeast Asia Indonesia is only beginning to refine the largest source of oil in the region here as in the other countries of awakening Southeast Asia nature's legacy is still for the most part largely undisturbed largely unexploited in rural areas construction generally follows the plans and patterns of the past work is by hand and the buildings are primitive in design and construction [Applause] here the changing based of Southeast Asia is less noticeable less striking the greater transformation is seen and reflected in the major cities of the region Takata capital of Indonesia population 2 million comparable in size to Philadelphia Bangkok Saigon Singapore and Kuala Lumpur capital of Malaysia already the fruits of freedom are visible in cities streets and stores scattered across the islands and mainland of Southeast Asia from the Philippines to Burma [Music] there are other sites offering grim witness to communism's determination to have for its own the strategic area for communism is envious of Southeast Asia its resources its industry its people its potential nations asking only to live as they please or taking up arms to defend themselves and their country the new defiant spirit is found in Thailand we're a proud people have a long history of Independence living in the shadow of Communist China the country will not bow nor yield but it is the Republic of Vietnam gateway to Southeast Asia that is today the primary battleground in the struggle to halt communist subversion terror aggression soldiers of the little nation have been joined in the crucial battle by allies who believed in and will fight to defend the right of self-determination the Philippines South Korea Australia New Zealand Thailand and the United States are united today in this common cause the dense jungles of South Vietnam provide ideal cover for the red infiltrators who come strike and melt again into the jungle the future that Southeast Asia is working for and dreaming of is being decided in this life-and-death struggle and because free men have stood firm in the Republic of Vietnam a spirit of hope is growing in this pivotal area of man's striving for independence and order and life itself a new destiny is taking shape under fire in Southeast Asia [Music] the stakes are great the price of victory or defeat is high lands and people once removed from the mainstream of history are now caught up in a tide of events that has changed their lives and will affect their future for time and distance are shrinking in the emerging nations of Southeast Asia the ways of the past are yielding to the demands of the present the changes are slow when often painful but they cannot be ignored and they cannot be stopped there are problems and there is also promise for the more than 200 million people men and women old and young in Southeast Asia in their lives and in their labors they are seeking and striving for the age-old dream of all mankind peace and security to enrich their own lives and the lives of generations yet to come [Music] [Applause]