Real Focus: Asia

In their public sessions, the diplomats talked of Europe. But their secret talks were of Asia. And Western diplomats carried away a strong suspicion that the Russians had decided on a holding action in Europe to leave themselves free to paddle in Asia's turbid political waters.

Last week in Berlin, Molotov entertained a select group of top East German Communists. The scraps of his speech which leaked out to a TIME correspond ent are revealing. "The focus of Soviet policy is in Asia," Molotov said. "The agenda of this conference has been decided with the concurrence of our Chinese ally . . . The united front of the Western Powers will fail first in Asia . . . The real danger to peace is in the Far East."

At every opportunity, Molotov pressed for recognition of the Red China regime. At the four "restricted" sessions with the West which were held to discuss Molotov's proposed five-power meeting including Communist China, he stubbornly demanded a full place for Red China as an equal partner. The West refused. Even France's Bidault, under heavy pressure for negotiations that might halt the wasting Indo-Chinese war, stood sturdily with his Western colleagues in demanding that any conference should be confined to specific issues. The West's proposal was for a Big Four meeting on Korea first. If this proved fruitful--and only then--the Big Four could call another conference on Indo-China, in which China and the Indo-Chinese states would participate.

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