NEW NATIONALISM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIV, Issue 26, 30 July 1937, Page 7

NEW NATIONALISM

FOUND IN OLD SIAM

THE LINKS WITH BRITAIN One's first train-window impressions o£ Siam are that here is an old' picturesque people, slow to change- its way of life, writes W. H. Chamberlain from Bangkok ;to . the ' "Christian Science Monitor.". The wide stretch of paddy fields, Buddhist priests in their saffron robes, naked little boys riding astride patient: water, buffaloes '■and looking like replicas of Mowgli of the "Jungle Book":.these have, been sights of the Siamese landscape ior many, generations. ; .. ;.... The same may be said of the bizarre, many-coloured architecture which attracts tourists from all over the world to Bangkok, sometimes called "the Venice of the East" because of its many canals, which branch out from the city's main river, the Menam. But Siam's political life has changed quite appreciably during the last fewyears. Two coups d'etat, both of them carried out with little if any bloodshed, led up to the abdication of King Prajadhipok, and to the emergence a3 the actual ruling power in the country, of the People's Party. This organisation is infused with the nationalist feeling which one finds all over Asia today, from Turkey to China. 'Thg directing force of the revolution, according to the general opinion of qualified foreign observers,,was Luang Pradist Manadharm, a. returned law student from Paris .who now holds th« post of Foreign Minister. ' Although the young' King' Ananda, now at school in' Switzerland, has formally succeeded his father, Prajadhipok, with a Council of Regency to act for him, actual power is in the hands of the leaders of the..People's Party. Following the fashion ■in modern dictatorships (and not only in dictatorships) the new, regime has, laid much emphasis on military and naval preparedness and on State planning and initiative tn economic life. A SPOKESMAN FOUND. I found one spokesman for old Siam's new nationalism in my guide and taxicab chauffeur, a young Siamese with a limited knowledge of English' but a good deal of business initiative, both apparently developed in dealing with foreign tourists. When I asked him for what purpose the tanks, aeroplanes, and warships of the smaller types which figure prominently in Siam's ' armament 'programme were needed, he replied: "We must be ready for any enemy. Look what happened to Abyssinia, because it had no modern weapons. We cannot afford to be crushed in that way." The Siamese military .budget ha 3 risen from 13,000,000 bahts (about £1,200,000) in 1932-33 to a record figure of 23,300,000 bahts in 1936-37. There i 3 an additional appropriation of 18,000,000 bahts for a navy, a number of destroyers having been ordered both in Japan and in Italy. As the sole independent country in south-eastern Asia, Siam occupies a pivotal political position of no small importance and is an* object of concern to more than one Foreign Ministry. Great Britain, which has long enjoyed close political, financial, and economic ties with Siam, is seriously concerned over the growth of Japanese influence in. that country. Siam i 3 encircled by British territory on three sides, by Malaya on .the south/ by, Burma on the west and north-west. Siam's small foreign,debt is floated in. London. British firms have been engaged in promoting the export trade of Siam, and most of the rice which is the country's largest product is sold on the markets of- Singapore and Hong Kong. During the last few years Japan has been making . unmistakable bids for closer relations with Siam. Japanese economic and "good-will" cultural missions have visited Bangkok. Overtures have been made for the establishment of an air line between Japan and Siam. (Bangkok is already an important airport, as it is on both the Hong Kong-London- and ■ the SaigonParis routes.) Japanese exports to Siam have grown rapidly and how amount to about 30 per cent, of that country's purchases of foreign goods. THE STORY OF A CANAL. ■ A periodic story that has caused some concern in Great' Britain, and still more, perhaps, in Singapore, is that the Siamese Government, with Japanese financial and technical assistance, will cut a canal through tha narrow isthmus of Kra. Such a canal, providir>2 a shorter sea route from Europe and, India to the Far East,might alter existing sea routes and would certainly injure Singapore, where Great Britain has erected a huge naval base, both strategically and economically. ■ I could obtain no confirmation of tha existence of a Kra Canal project during my stay in Bangkok. My impression was that, if such a project ever existed, strong British pressure was employed against it, with the result that the idea was' at least tern« porarily shelved. Japan's lack of sufficient capital to finance such an expert* sive project and the fact that the canal, if constructed, would be almost under the fire of British guns..from Burma at its western terminus, are other negative factors to be considered. After talking with a.', number of Siamese officials, including Foreign Minister Luang Pradist. Manadharm and with foreigners .of • various nationalities, I gained the impression that Siam, disposed to resent foreign domination or tutelage, has . entered into no binding and sweeping commitments or alliances with Japan. It will co-operate with Japan in so far as it feels that its national interests are being served by so doing—and n« further. • ■