Evening Post SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1942. PACIFIC COMMITMENTS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 106, 31 October 1942, Page 6

Evening Post SATURDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1942. PACIFIC COMMITMENTS

When New Zealand was included in the South Pacific area, originally under the command of Vice-Admiral Ghormley and now under ViceAdmiral W. Halsey, it became apparent that Dominion forces would of necessity work in close collaboration with American forces in this area. Developments in the Solomons, which are included in the South Pacific area, have served to emphasise the desirability .of such co-operation. The announcement made yesterday by the Minister of Defence (Mr. Jones) that the New Zealand Army and Air Force in the Pacific have been placed under American command will, therefore, occasion no great surprise. When forces are cooperating closely it is logical that there should be unity of command in order to ensure the greatest efficiency in operations. The presence in forward areas of a number of New Zealand squadrons, mainly of the bomber reconnaissance type, has made the necessity for cohesion in training and supplies obvious, and the arrangement announced by Mr. Jones will be endorsed by the public. It is satisfactory. to know that the substantial expansion which has taken place in the New Zealand Air Force during the past year has made it possible for units of the force to take an active part in the Solomons struggle, on the outcome of which so much depends. The unity of command now achieved in the land forces of New Zealand, and the United States is also a logical development, but it is to be regretted that on this point the Minister's statement was not couched in clearer terms. In August last Mr. Coates, as Minister of Armed Forces and War Co-ordination, \ announced the War Cabinet's decision, backed by Parliament, to call up all men up to the age of 45 years, and he made the following statement:

It may well be that future developments will show it to be wise and desirable that our troops should be employed in new theatres of war on the ground that the safety of our own country and that of our allies could best be served by going after and fighting the enemy rather than awaiting him on our own shores. It should not- be hard to visualise the havoc and destruction that would follow if New Zealand had to 'fight in this Dominion, or, in other words, if New Zealand became a battlefront. Subject to consideration by War Cabinet, strategical considerations must of necessity determine any mission in which our troops are called upon to take their part, and, in any case, our effort will be aligned with that of our allies in whatever theatre they may be engaged.

Since then further statements on similar lines have been made by responsible Ministers, and the whole question of man-power, no doubt involving possible military commitments, has been discussed by Parliament in secret session. New Zealand sentiment •generally is in line with the view that it is better to fight the enemy before he can come to these shores than to face the risk of invasion. That means attack and a determined effort to deprive the enemy of the initiative. Wars cannot be won by waiting for the enemy to attack. But if New Zealand is to be involved in further commitments, the public should be informed, so far as is compatible with security, what is involved. On one point the statement of the Minister of v Defence is clear.

The Minister said that he presumed it would be well understood, and it was a fact, that the movement of New Zealand forces of all three Services out of New Zealand for any new commitment was a matter which required the approval of the New Zealand Government before any new measure was put into effect.

This is satisfactory and clear; but what is not equally clear-is how the unity of command now announced fits in with it or is qualified by it. The statement regarding the unity of command in itself leaves several points vague; for instance, the measure of authority that goes with the responsibility of the New Zealand army and air commanders for the defence of New Zealand. It is presumed that Parliament has discussed this and related questions arising from the possibility of greater commitments in the South Pacific area, but so far no statement other than in the most general terms has been forthcoming from the Government as to the lines of policy to be followed, either in this regard or in regard to man-power problems generally. If further commitments are to be undertaken, what is their nature and what will they involve? These are questions which the public have a right to ask, and it should be possible for the Government to answer them without [ giving vital information to the enemy. The support given to the Government in any decisions it may make will be all the more ready if the public are taken into the Government's confidence.