DEFENCE OF PACIFIC

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 March 1939, Page 7

DEFENCE OF PACIFIC

PROPOSED CONFERENCE EARLY STATEMENT EXPECTED [BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.] LONDON, March 9. An early announcement may be expected concerning an Imperial Pacific conference, to which the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand are to be parties, for a discussion on the defence of air communication, trade, and economics. It is believed that the talks will begin without delay among representatives of the three countries who will already be in Australia when the announcement is made.

CONFIRMED BY MR. SAVAGE. WELLINGTON. March 9. Confirmation of the cable message from Canberra that a conference on defence was to be held between New Zealand, Australia, and Britain was given by the Prime Minister (Mr. Savage), who indicated that the conference had been called at New Zealand’s instigation. “I see by the cable that I am charged with holding things up,” he said. “As a. matter of fact, New Zealand has been pressing for this conference for some time, to discuss defence matters, and that has been agreed to. I am not holding anything up. I am simply asking that the three countries should make a joint statement at a time to be agreed upon among them." AUSTRALIAN INTENTIONS. CANBERRA, March 9. Mr. Lyons stated that no Minister from Australia would attend the Defence Conference in New Zealand.

JAPAN’S NAVAL POLICY COMMAND OF WESTERN PACIFIC. (Received March 10, 8 a.m.) TOKIO, March 9. “Japan has no intention of aiming at navy parity with England and America,” declared Rear-Admiral Kanazawa, Chief of the Admiralty Publicity Department. She aimed at maintaining a navy strong enough to meet the largest naval force that any single foreign Power was hypothetically able to send to the Fai TCclSt Japan’s object was lo command the Western Pacific seas in order to facilitate the smooth execution of national policies. Her true ideal was one of non-menace and non-aggression. She wanted a fleet sufficient for defence, but not large enough to undertake offensive operations. This was the basis of the six-year plan building programme of £72,000,000.

U.S. NEUTRALITY ACT. WASHINGTON, March 8. The movement for the repeal of the Neutrality Act made headway when Senator J. H. Lewis (Democrat, Illinois) introduced a measure negatm g J n d neutrality statutes of 1935, 19..6, and 1937, and giving the President unlimited power to determine what action may he necessarv to enforce neutrality. Tl“ Se” iio Naval Affairs Committee agreed to ask the Secretary of State (Mr. Cordell Hull) whether Japan had abided by her treaty obligations not to fortify the islands of the west Pacific.