JAPAN'S FEAR

Hokitika Guardian, 5 January 1933, Page 6

JAPAN'S FEAR

OF CHINA’S GROWING STRENGTH

DR. KOO’S EXPLANATION

JJONDON, December 24

.“Japan lias struck in Manchuria, not because of China’s weakness, but because she fears China’s rapidly-grow-ing strength.” So said Dr. Wellington- Foo, former Chinese Foreign Minister, and. now a member of the Court of International Arbitration at The Hague, to the Geneva corre.pndent of the “Yorkshire Observer” to-day.

China, lie said, must consolidate her Government, buit it was nonsense to talk of chaos, as there was concreto evidence of her efforts to restore the situation. This included the building of 65C0 miles of dykeis ten feet high at a cost of £5,000,000 and employing between 2,000,000 and 3,000,000 men, to prevent further floods in the Yangtse.

She bad also balanced her budget without borrowing abroad, and, moreover, her currency had risen while the Japanese had fallen. History, lie said, showed that Japan yielded when firmly confronted, owing to a. fear of isolation and a desire to keep lier privileged international position.

If the nations united in refusing to recognise Manchukuo and at the same time placed an embargo, on loans and munitions and withdrew their ambassadors from Tokic, Japan would assuredly accept the League solution based on the Lytton report.