Editing Harold Holt (section)

====Britain and the Commonwealth====
[[File:NAAImageM4297 Holt Wilson.jpg|thumb|right|Harold and Zara Holt meeting with [[Harold Wilson|Harold]] and [[Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx|Mary Wilson]] in 1967]]
Holt was a strong supporter of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], and believed its member states had moral obligations to one another&nbsp;– particularly Britain, as the former "mother country".<ref>Frame (2005), p. 195.</ref> However, his relationship with [[Harold Wilson]], the British prime minister, was somewhat frosty. He repeatedly lobbied Wilson to maintain a strong British presence "[[East of Suez]]", in order to complement American efforts, and in early 1967 received assurances that no reduction was being contemplated.<ref name="Frame 2005, p. 191"/> However, by the middle of the year Wilson had announced that Britain intended to close all of its bases in Asia by the early 1970s (except for [[Hong Kong]]).<ref>Frame (2005), p. 194.</ref> In response to Holt's concerns, it was suggested by Wilson that a British naval base could be established in [[Cockburn Sound]].<ref>Frame (2005), p. 193.</ref> Holt rejected this outright, and felt that Wilson had deliberately misled him as to his intentions.<ref>Frame (2005), pp. 193, 196.</ref>