Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1923. THE SINGAPORE BASE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XLIV, Issue 9876, 25 July 1923, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 1923. THE SINGAPORE BASE.

Keen attention surrounds the British proposal to build a naval base at Singapore at a cost of between 10 and 20 millions. A large floating dock, obtained by Britain under the peace settlement with. Germany, is already allocated for it, and doubtless detailed plans for the enormous structures that 10 millions can put into existence will be already well forward. The aspect of the question which is now chiefly arousing debate is not -whether the base should be at Singapore but whether there should be a warship base built anywhere. Admiral Scott holds that airships, airplanes, and submarines will be tlie fighting units of the future, and therefore the millions should be • spent for weapons to meet those arms. Apparently a base would be useless and almost defenceless without a navy, so that the building of the one will necessitate the maintenance of the other, and that is a far more expensive matter still. The British Labour Party,✓ with its bounding idealism, is now saying^through its leader Mr Ramsay MacDonald, that there should be no naval base at Singapore, no navy there, no navy anywhere. There should be instead disarmament, brought about through an international conference convened by Britain. We are disposed to believe that if the present effort to settle with Germany proves effective, some extensive measure of disarmament will be popular throughout the nations, but complications may be presented bv aircraft whose war prowess it may be difficult to gauge. and satisfactory limit. France has already suggested limitation of aircraft, and she has signed, with Britain and Japan, the naval reduction treaty with America. On the lines of reduction there , is no insuperable impediment visible, and it must obviously apply to land forces as w r ell as to those of the sea and the air. But that may be quite apart from the Singapore naval disarmament in Europe and America will relieve Britain of the need to maintain a large Home fleet. That being so, a, large share of the reduced British navy may be free for duty in tlie Pacific, where apparently important police service is in contemplation. References have been made to the coming commerce through the waters dominated by Singapore, but all estimates as to its volume are yet very vague and guesslike. One wants to know what volume of merchandise is likely to pass from China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and India through the Suez Canal, | for apparently the shipping thus engaged would be interested in such refitting' and fuelling facilities as Singapore might provide. A base useful in peace time to mercantile shipping and convertible in wartime to the uses of war might be well worth the ten milIlions, which would be a small cost for an empire so big. Japan recognises Britain’s right to take the step; it is outside the scope of the Washington naval treaty; it is a protection against not only Japan, America., China, France, and others with Pacific interests but also against Germany: lest some day her recovery should reestablish a danger. And the British Empire in .those regions

stretching* from South and' Isorth Africa right round to New Zealand has enormous territorial wealth to protect. Singularly enough, the chief note of resentment comes from Holland, whose precious island of Java is close to Si r .2"we. In European complications and invasion of HolI land by Germany # or France the | capture of Java might be prevent-, ed by the British navy. Similarly. a German-PuJch

aimed against BHtain and ner allies would have awkward lesults if Britain ruled on Smffapo • Nevertheless, when possible daiv g'ers from all quarters are reviewed it would seem > i; 9 h predominance must be mo e reassuring to all not>o»':. l ,t>es concerned than oomP.ete de fencelessness,.