Diplomacy: Tales of the South Pacific

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Soviet Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze last week became the first top Soviet diplomat to visit Thailand, Australia and Indonesia in 25 years. The foray was another step in Mikhail Gorbachev's policy, announced last July in Vladivostok, of making the Soviet Union a major political and economic force in the Pacific.

In Australia, Shevardnadze sought to remove "reefs of apprehension and suspicion" about Soviet activity in the South Pacific by insisting that his country seeks only normal diplomatic and commercial relations. Despite his avowed desire for peace and stability, Southeast Asian nations expressed concern over Soviet support of Hanoi, which invaded Kampuchea in 1978. The / six-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations backs the anti-Vietnamese coalition of Kampuchean guerrillas.

The most sensitive stop on Shevardnadze's mission was Indonesia. More than 100,000 Communists were killed in 1965 by forces led by General Suharto, then the top military commander, after an attempted Communist coup. The Communist Party is still banned in the country. One senior Indonesian diplomat noted the wariness: "We are aware that the Soviets never give up in their goals to widen their influence. Therefore we will be cautious."