REARMING BY JAPAN

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26517, 4 September 1951, Page 7

REARMING BY JAPAN

N.Z. Wants Ban On Navy, Air Force

(N.Z. Press Association— Copvripht)

(R«- 10.15 p.m.) NEW YORK, September 3. New Zealand and Australia had urged that the United States-Japanese bilateral security agreement stipulate that Japan must not have a navy or air force, James Reston, diplomatic correspondent of the »N C w York Times, reported m a dispatch from San j?fancisco to-day. ,Otat ChWs »' thi. It is understood that the pact provides tor the stationing d American troops in Japan and places certain restriction™' japan’s ability to rebuild her armed forces. The draft pact insisted that Japan should not possess under kff OW n control armament that could become an offensive to other nations.

New Zealand and Australia are known to have urged that should be made more specific in the AmericanJapanese pact.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff wpt-p tnnV F b X On n$ e Ja^“e Navy ana Air Force. They argued that ?ctivi? i e S rn i g n ht t4 XP F an C her Aggressive where it J ar East to a P° int some gh *l b ® c ? me necessary at I some time in the future to allow the Fo?ce eSe h r aVe a Nav * a " d Air *orcc. Therefore a distinction United State 0 h h t Ve h**" made by the treJiv between its international for Cy an .u lts actual programme ,h ' This general policy did not envisage a- J; reatlon of a Japanese Navy or official contention was that the United States should provide air and naval power for Far Eastern defence, while Japan’s contribution snould be made up exclusively of land fO i rC u S l ?! Jt the United States did not wish to bind itself or Japan irretrievably to this prohibition, by putting it into the pact. r « ..The American leaders were afraid this might encourage aggression by the Soviet or its satellites and ’deprive non-Communist Powers of potential air and naval power which would be needed for their own and Japan’s protection.