GATE OF PACIFIC

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 148, 19 December 1929, Page 36

GATE OF PACIFIC

THE SINGAPORE BASE ■ ■■■' ■* j. ..., v , „ . WILL COST THIRTY MILLION POUNDS In the motion pictures they'call it the City of Sin. In the world of politics, of shipping, and of high finance it is called tho crossroads of the world, for Singapore is all things to: flll ;people.In few places is thero such amazing div-. ersity of races,, pf business'■ intofe^ts; and of occupations. There la a cphcen.tration of factors havings Vital bearing on the welfare -of tKp-woridy Writes ;-a. special correspondent - iir - the: ■-V Sufu" News Pictorial."; ■■•'■" -'-■-■ East mcots West'iij Singapore. They come together with" a clash that ;is gratifymgly sharp tp the traveller who has been trying to sense the distinctions between tho two halves of the world. One can B it on a terrace a :fcw miles out of tho city, and, in the cool of the evening, watch the ships coming and colng through the narrow straits between Singapore and the islands that fringe it, tor at Singapore, the eastern ehtrance to the Pacific, as at Panama itswestern counterpart, ships must pass tiirongh a narrow place. ■ : . IMPORTANCE OF BASE. i In commerce alone, Singapore is: a vital place to all the world, a place to be kept, as it now is, in the hands of people like tho British, who appreciate its value and understand its care anfl management. But from yet another standpoint: Singapore will soon be a-unique and strategic centre. The Singapore naval base, now being constructed,'is sure fo nave a decisive effect for p_eace or war.' The Singapore naval base is "ah active factor in world politics. :It may'become" an issue in ' British polities, where -it has already frequently Sneered the arena, because of' "its- immense "«ost, estimated at between 30: and- 50 millions sterling, and because England, like other countries,, has so-called- pacifists who cannot understand that" armament more often than not has .: ,a ; wholly peaceful mission.- . -...:.......' SCOPE FOR FLEET. In the strategy of the Pacific, where the next decisive world drama may be staged, the Singapore base is. of even greater actual moment. As things now stand, the British' Fleet cannot; properly base farther east than Bombay: Its scope of action is limited. When the Singapore base is finished this massive fleet can base there and extend its radius of effective" action to the Far East and Australia. In other words, any people ' haying = designs on Australia—and Australians think there are several—must act pretty soon if they are going-to-act at all, for in ten years, it is estimated, the base will be complete, and then _ no one can touch that corner of the British. Empire. . For this reason. the-.Singappre'.base is of vital concern to the over-populated countries of the Far East. All plans, political and military, must be made and are being made with that in.view. SINGAPORE ON ISLAND. Naturally, the traveller la anxious to see such, a vital spot. A. trip but .to the base is a surprising experience. To understand its position, it "must.be realised that the city of Singapore is on an island of the same name,, separated from the Malay Peninsula" by a. narrow strip of water, known, as me "Johore Strait. '.' '-'. •".".' /:;-" It is one of the strangest of contrasts that the site of the Singapore Naval Bare is on the bank of that sleepy, for-gotten-looking bit of water. The drive to the base, straight, across.', the island, takes about 45 minutes. """"" A clerk told.me--what there was.to see. There were only some shops for repairing the great ships, the great floating dry dock, and then the quarters of the naval engineers. '. " Did I want to take a looK at the floating dock? Then I ha<l better walk to the end of that rotting wooden pier, 100 yards away, where I could see it all. I walked to the end of the rotting wooden pier, fearing; that I.might at any moment go through, and there saw the placid bit of water, as.untouched and primitive as anything could be, and floating on its surface in' the" glow of the sunset the immense dry dock, as grim an emblem of modern science as could be imagined. A fish flipped out of the water—that was the only sound. The floating dry dock, which is big enough to accommodate a battleship, reared its monumental grey sides to Heaven and seemed strangely out.of place. ."^ .