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boundaries in the Himalayas, Siberia, Southeast Asia, and Formosa which
it had before the period of European and Japanese imperial expansion. It
wants to modernize its technology and industry and to increase the standard
of living of its people. It wants a Far Eastern Monroe doctrine to eliminate
bases and spheres of influence of overseas powers in the Far East. Its con-
flict with Russia in several of these interests may be more important than
its conflict on theoretical communism, with charges of Soviet “revisionism.”
While the struggle for leadership between Maoists and conservatives con-
tinues, it is difficult to predict the course of Chinese policy in detail, but it
seems likely that the goals referred to will continue and the differences be-
tween the Chinese factions will be mainly on methods.
The Western bloc has also been breaking up. De Gaulle has left NATO
and talks of a Europe to the Urals. SEATO has proved of little importance.
The Manila meeting on Vietnam in the fall of 1966 did not include three
of its members, Pakistan, France, and Britain, all of whom take a dim view
of American policy there, but it did include two nonmembers, South Viet-
nam and Malaysia. Japan, also a theoretical ally of the United States, gives
no support to the Vietnam policy and wants to trade with China. The
United States policy of not recognizing Communist China is widely opposed
by United States allies in Europe and Asia, many of whom recognize that
country and support its admission to the United Nations.
Fear of United States encirclement was a major factor in maintaining the
communist bloc, and fear of communist expansion was a major factor in
maintaining NATO and other anti-Communist alliances. These fears have
not been wholly dissipated, but they have been greatly reduced and both
blocs have tended to disintegrate.
Unaligned states, wooed by both blocs, have exerted a greater influence
in world politics than their military power would suggest. A third of the
world’s population, and over half of the members of the United Nations,
are in this group. They have exerted great influence in eliminating colonial-
ism, reducing racial prejudice, and opposing intervention in civil strife. To
this end they have invoked United Nations principles supporting the self-
determination of peoples, respect for human rights, and nonintervention in
domestic questions. These countries generally wish to strengthen the United
Nations and their attitudes have made the great powers hesitate to utilize
the veto in the Security Council in a way which would offend them. This
was illustrated in the Congo situation of 1961 which was dealt with by the
Security Council. On all critical resolutions one or more of the great powers
abstained but did not veto. Though the nonaligned powers tend to act to-
gether on a few matters, their votes in the United Nations indicate little
more solidarity than does the “free world” group. In such votes there is still
the greatest degree of solidarity in the communist group, due partly to the