WESTERN HEMISPHERE DEFENSE _ 611

On the contrary, the proceedings of the Rio Conference made it
quite clear that the Treaty was not meant to provide an impulse
toward increased armaments of the American continents. Resolution
XI of that Conference reads as follows:

“The Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of. Conti-
nental Peace and Security declares: That its primary purpose as well
as that of the Treaty which it has concluded is to assure the peace
and security of the continent and, consequently, that no stipulation of
the Treaty nor any of the obligations created under it should be in-
terpreted. as justifying excessive armaments or may be invoked as a
reason for the creation or maintenance of armaments or armed forces
beyond those required for common defense in the interest of peace and
security.”

The Secretar y of State, in his statement on the Military Assistance
Program before the House Foreign Affairs Committee,’ observed :

“We are bound with our American Republic friends and neighbors
in the Rio Pact of Mutual Assistance. Under this program we intend
to help them in procuring equipment. Equipment will be made availa-
ble to them on a cash reimbursement basis in accordance with a pro-
vision of the proposed legislation especially designed to help meet the
procurement problems of the American Republics and: certain other _
friendly countries.”

It will be seen that while we were willing to give certain assistance
in procurement on a cash basis, we did not undertake any moral com-
mitment “to find ways and means to enable Latin American Govern-

- ments to procure arms to the extent necessary to ensure their continued

interest and cooperation”.

The position taken by the Department of State during the work of
the Foreign Assistance Correlation Committee was that, although the
Rio Treaty and the Charter of the Organization of American States
do not commit the United States to provide military equipment to the
other American Republics, the United States during recent years has
actively fostered the concept of inter- American cooperation, including
_ the standardization of military organization and equipment. Accord-
ingly, the Department felt it was essential that legislation providing
for military assistance to foreign nations authorize the transfer to the
other American Republics, on a reimburseable basis, of amounts of
military equipment compatible with their economic conditions and
with the needs of hemisphere defense.

The Director General of the Pan American Union, in his Report
on the Results of the Rio Conference, made it clear that there was no
obligation to reach prior agreement on the measures that would be

“Text in Department of State Bulletin, August 8, 1949, p. 189,