THE WITHDRAWAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 56, Issue 80, 16 January 1936, Page 5

THE WITHDRAWAL

TOKIO PRESS NOT SURPRISED.

BRITAIN AND AMERICA BLAMED.

NOT AFRAID OF NAVAL RACE.

ARMS INDUSTRIES MAY BOOM. United Press Association—Copyright) (Received This Day, 9.50 a.m.) TOKIO, January 15. The newspapers are not surprised at the breakdown of the Naval Conference and blame England and America. They say that Japan is not afraid of a naval race and foreshadow a boom in armament industries. Fnancial circles, however, are uneasy at the prospect of swelling budgets.

REGRET FELT IN LONDON.

OTHER POWERS NOT CONSIDERED.

(Received This Day, 10.50 a.m.) LONDON, January 16*

The withdrawal of the Japanese delegation from the Naval Conference/; although by no means unexpected, caused lively regret in London. In circles closely connected with the conference the view is expressed that the impracticability of the Japanese proposal is best shown by the plain fact that it was found unacceptable by all the other participants in the discussion. It is thought unfortunate that the Japanese delegation came to the conference with such narrow instructions.

There is a general impression that the form of the Japanese proposal was dictated by too close consideration of their own needs and too little consideration for the requirements of the other Powers. This is illustrated by the fact that while stressing anxiety to secure abolition of offensive categories of naval armament they excluded submarines therefrom.

There is undisguised regret that the Japanese delegation is unwilling to remain to discuss an agreement providing for a frank exchange of information, and the various questions of qualitative disarmament which have still to come before the conference, the more so as the Japanese delegation has been treated with great consideration and the conference has given the fullest discussion to its proposal, at five of the ten meetings, so far held, of the First Committee, as well as almost exclusively at the one meeting of the heads of delegations. In conference circles, however, hope is strongly entertained that the withdrawal of the Japanese delegation from the further work of the conference will not lead to recriminations or affect the relation of the Powers concerned adversely in respect to other questions. —British Official AVireless.

EFFECT ON AMERICAN POLICY.

BUILDING FOR SEVEN YEARS.

THE WORLD'S GREATEST FLEET. LONDON, January 14. Mr Hector Bywater (naval correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph") says that the withdrawal of Japan from the Naval Conference has rendered inevitable the .completion of the American building programme, which by 1942, will give the United States.the worlds greatest navy. The situation will become more dangerous should America decide to cany out her plan of creating new naval bases in the Pacific, in which case Britain might be compelled to reconsider her strategic position there, including the restoration of defences at HongKong, which have been untouched tor 16 tears and are now out of date.

COMMENT JN BRITISH PRESS.

THE POSSIBLE INTENTION

LONDON, January 11

The newspapers state that the Japanese still wished for the discussion of their proposal for a common upper limit of total naval tonnage, and the discussion last night on the procedure to be followed revealed that there were still points upon which the delegation desired further instructions from Tokioi

"The Times" says: "The latest instructions to the Japanese delegation were prompted, perhaps, by the realisation that the conference would proceed without them if they should withdraw from it. They seem to have contemplated further insistence on a common upper limit, but without pressing for a decision. •

"There are other matters besides quantitative limitations on which an agreement is just as important to Japan as to any other .Power—qualitative limitation, for example, which promises substantial economies to ail. "There is at least one-—the limitation of bases in the Pacific—in which their interest is greater than that of any other Power. This no doubt was responsible for the reluctance of the Japanese Government, reported yesterday, to withdraw from the conference.

"It seems to have been contemplated that their demand for a common upper limit could be merely shelved for the time, while other mat-

ters were being discussed, without being definitely dropped by its authors. This procedure could hardly be satisfactory to the other delegations. It would import an air of unreality into further discussions, if there were hanging over them the prospect of a demand being introduced which the other delegations weie unwilling to concede. "While there can he no objection to further elucidation of the proposal for a common upper limit, if its authors hold that it is not yet fully understood, the view may well be held that if it does not then command assent it must be disposed of finally. To drop it without a definite understanding that it would not be revived would hardly commend itself to the conference as a whole." All the delegates to "the NavaL Conference attended a reception last night, given for them at Burlington House by the president and council of the Rciyal Academy and.the Executive Committee of the Exhibition of Chinese Art.