FAR EAST WATERS

Greymouth Evening Star, 26 April 1941, Page 8

FAR EAST WATERS

ANGLO-U.S.A. CO-OPERATION JAP. PRESS REPORT [BY CABLE—.PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] (Received April 26, 10 a.m.) TOKIO, April 25. “Nichi Nichi” gives prominence to a dispatch from its Shanghai correspondent claiming that Britain has turned over to the United States Fleet, all duties of patrolling British waters in the Far East, to enable the British’ naval units at Hong Kong and Singapore to rush to British home waters and the Eastern-Medi-terranean. The dispatch claims that recent activities by the United States Fleet substantiate this move,, asserting, inter alia, that the United States warships which recently ma.de goodwill visits to Australia, are speeding to Singapore. Six United States submarines are already reported to be patrolling the waters around Malaya. / PACIFIC DEFENCE. WASHINGTON, April 24. Mr. W. G. Magnuson, a member of the House of Representatives Naval Committee, in an interview, proposed a unified military, naval, ana air command among the United States, the Philippines, Australia, and the Netherlands East Indies to counteract a Japanese “threat” resulting from the Japanese-Soviet Pact. He said the United States Navy High Command should immediately undertake a survey of Australian, Philippine, and Netherlands forces, and then determine what steps should be taken to consolidate these in the event oi an emergency. “Quite probably such a survey has already been undertaken,” he said. JAP. DRIVE PROGRESSES. (Reed. April 26, 9.30 a.m.) SHANGHAI, April 25. A Japanese spokesman announced that the“Chikiano campaign was successfuly completed, and preparations had started for a new campaign in Fukien, for the purpose of cutting off other Chungking supply routes. He claimed that a thousand Chinese were killed and 350 taken prisoners between Saturday and Thursday. Chiang Kai-shek’s home at Fenghwa was undamaged, and is being preserved. ANGLO-CHINESE AGREEMENT NEW YORK, April 24. The Domei News Agency broadcast to-day a dispatch from Amoy, China, to the Tokio newspaper “Asahi, saying: “A secret military agreement between England and the Chungking Government would appear to have been concluded for the defence of Burma.” The report also said two thousand Chinese troops have crossed Burma’s frontier in the past few days. Others were stationed along the BurmaThailand frontier. It added that preparations had been made for the storage in Burma of war material, especially aeroplanes for the Central Chinese Government.

AUSTRALIAN TROOPS

SINGAPORE, April 24. Further reinforcements of Australian troops have arrived here fully equipped. RUSSIAN PACT TOKIO, April 25. The Emperor, has ratified the Rus-sian-Japanese treaty. It is effective from to-day, for five years. The “Nichi Nichi” editorially described the pact as “an opportunity” for .the United States, if she really desires peace in the Pacific, as the pact aims at peace.. It possibly suggests an American overture toward an adjustment of Japanese-American relations. It appreciated the pact’s merits as follows: Firstly, it assured peace on the Manchukuo-Soviet border. Secondly, it gives the Soviet’s de facto recognition of Manchukuo. Thirdly, it crushed the United States’ ambition to obtain the Soviet’s participation in the anti-Axis group. It is said that a more important point is that the pact means increased pressure on Britain and the United States in their Chungking assistance, whereby Chungking will automatically be isolated, thereby contributing to a settlement of the China affair.

The “Asahi,” commenting on today’s ratification of the neutrality pact, predicted a restoration of Japanese- Soviet relations “on normal tracks,” whereunder negotiations of many years’ standing on the redemarcation of the ManchukuoMongolian border, Soviet-Japanese trade agreement, and the long-term fishery pact, are expected to “progress rapidly.”