BRITAIN’S FIXED AIM

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21141, 8 July 1943, Page 3

BRITAIN’S FIXED AIM

JAPAN’S DESTRUCTION AID PLEDGED TO CHINA (British Official Wireless.) (11.30 a.m.) RUGBY, July 7. Chinese resistance has stirred the imagination of the world, declared the Foreign Secretary, Mr. Anthony Eden, speaking at a "Salute to China” meeting at the Albert Hall to-night on the occasion of the sixth anniversary of Japan’s attack on China. Mr Eden said the Allied nations had a fixed, grim resolve to teach Japan, once and for all, that coprosperity was not achieved by cruelty and oppression and that “he who draws the sword shall perish by it.” He gave an assurance that the reopening of communications with China remained the “prime Allied objective," and said that in planning the post-war world there was no chance of stability in Asia without a strong united China. The Allies’ account with ihe Japanese would be settled.

“Wo of the British commonwealth and Empire have a duty to our own people in the Far East, imprisoned and enslaved by the Japanese,” said Mr. Eden. “We also have a duty to those territories of the British Empire which have been overrun to restore to their peoples the freedom and prosperity they enjoyed and to assist in their development towards still better things. We have a duty to the Allies, the Chinese in particular, to destroy the Japanese menace in the Far East and join in making contributions to a better order in which all just men may love peace.” Mr. Eden added that he had no doubt about the defeat of Japan, but the Allies had no illusions about the magnitude of the task. It would be wrong to divorce the fighting in the West from the fighting in the East. The recent successes of the Chinese Army has played a part in the common struggle just as the Allied success in North Africa had brought aid and hope to the sorely tried Allies in the East. Every thrust against the Axis in Europe brought nearer the day when the full force of the United Nations would be brought to bear against Japan. The day would come when the power that had opened the Mediterranean would flow eastwards and overwhelm the Empire of Japan. The Allies' determination to send aid to China was not limited by political and financial considerations. They were doing their utmost to supplement the air routes now in use. Requests from the Chinese Government for instructions had been gladly met and the supply would be expanded shortly.