Naval Parleys Resumed

Manawatu Times, Volume 61, Issue 6, 8 January 1936, Page 7

Naval Parleys Resumed

Limitation Issue Discussed

BRITAIN’S PROPOSAL

(British Official Wireless.) RUGBY,'Jan. 6,

The Five-Power Conference wits resumed at Clarence House, Westminster, this afternoon. At the opening of the meeting,, the chairman of the .First Committee (Lord Monscll) stated that Mr. Anthony Eden had been appointed as a delegate of the United Kingdom to succeed Sir Samuel Hoare.

It was agreed by all the delegations that as the conference had at its jilcnary session elected as president the British Foreign Secretary no further election was required, the presidency devolving ox officio on Mr. Eden. Discussion of the United Kingdom proposal for voluntary and unilateral declarations of naval construction over n period of years was then resumed at the point which had been reached when the committee adjourned for the Christmas recess.

The United Kingdom delegate proceeded to reply to the various criticisms which had been made by the Japanese delegation in regard to the proposal prior to the recess. A statement was then mado by the French delegation drawing attention to certain provisions of the United Kingdom proposal which would require considerable modification to ensure the practical application of the scheme. The Italian delegation pointed out that certain objections to the adoption of the United Kingdom proposal and the suggested unilateral declaration oi naval construction should be restricted to one year.

Three plans dealing with the question of the exchange of information will be circulated by the French, Italian and United Kingdom delegates for examination at the next meeting on Wednesday. The idea for the exchange of information regarding naval construction is to broaden the basis of the provisions which are now contained in the Washington and London Treaties. Lord Monsell, First Lord of the Admiralty, will preside, at the Government dinner in honour of the Naval conference delegates on Thursday. It will be recalled that tho conference opened last month in the knowledge that tho quantitative ratios ot naval armaments contained in the Washington and London Treaties, which expire at the end of this your, were no longer acceptable to Japan, France and Italy. The United States, on the othet hand. favoured their continuance, though at a lower level all round. The Japanese counter-proposal for a common upper limit of naval tonnage for all the Powers, introduced at the early stage of the conference, met with opposition from all the other delegations, who maintained that the aim should be quality not of armaments but of security, and that these were incompatible. It was at this juncture that the conference passed to a discussion of tho compromise proposal of the British delegation. The proposal is that each Power, recognising the common right to security, should base its provision of naval force upon a minimum necessary to ensure that security and should declare for a term of years ahead the amount thus decided of new construction which it would voluntarilv undertake not to exceed.

Talk of Failure SUGGESTION IN TOKIO. LONDON, Jan. (3. Tho Times' Tokio correspondent says the vernacular Press is preparing readers for the failure of the Naval Conference. The Foreign Spokesman, however, expressed the opinion that fears were premature. Tie says the discussion of Japan's proposals is not nearly exhausted.