THIRD-RATE POWER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 301, 20 December 1937, Page 9

THIRD-RATE POWER.

"JAPAN WILL DEGENERATE." " RESULT OF WAR WITH CHINA. AH contact with outside countries has been to the detriment of Japan and Chine," said Mr. Arpad Szigetvarv, in the course of an address on "Crisis in China," which was delivered under the auspices of the Rationalist Association at the Strand Theatre laest night. The western world, he said, had begun to look on China as another Africa," to be divided tip at will. Japan's chance for a share of the territory did ru>t come till after the Great War, but Japan wan not a successful coloniser and had been unable to develop what concessions she already had. Her primary need was for a closed .market for her manufactures, and the present strife had been brought about by the fact that Chinese unity was threatening her domination. In regard to the present situation, it was the opinion of the speaker that however the struggle ended, the war a* far a,s China was concerned was one of exhaustion, and the other Powers were letting China do the work whiie they supplied her with the necessary munitions. It was the policy of China to draw her enemy far into the interior away from the base of supplies, and hold it with "crack divisions" of soldiery which had proved superior to those of the invader, while fresh Chinese were being trained behind the lines.

The future success of this policy was not able to be foretold, but the 'one thing certain about the crisis in the East was that Japan would be exhausted and rapidly degenerate into a weak, thirdrate Power which would he easily -urinated by the more powerful nations of the •western world.