SINGAPORE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 29 April 1937, Page 11

SINGAPORE

BRITAIN’S GATEWAY TO THE EAST

COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE

The peninsula of Malaya, with Singapore at the tip. projects far to the south in Asia, and, with the islands of Sumatra. Java, and Timor, forms a barrier between the Indian and Pacific oceans (writes the Sydney “Herald”). In that barrier are two main gateways—the straits of Malacca and Sunda—and, while these gates are closed the Indian Ocean is safe against attack from the cast. Around the shores ol that ocean lies three-quarters of the land territory of the British Empire and more than three-quarters of it; people. Through that ocean every yeai passes £1,000,000,000 worth of British traffic.

Of other routes in this area, the seaway from the Cape to Australia is fai removed from foreign naval bases: the Pacific route to Australia and New Zealand is negligible; railways provide •eommunication from Atlantic ports to the western seaboard of Canada. The one great gap of a remediable character in Britain’s strategical communications is the passage from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific through the East Indian archipelago. LESSONS OF WAR The words “of a remediable character” have been used because our naval stations between Portsmouth and Port Said are flanked by the home ports of France and Italy. The situation created by the Abyssinian war showed that, for a period at least, our eastern base must defend itself with the aid of such naval squadrons as are patrolling Eastern waters.

Because of its geographical position. Singapore’s claim to selection as the principal base of Britain’s eastern defences is undisputable. Darwin could not replace it, because, though Australia is an important unit in the British Commonwealth, it is not the only unit. A base at Darwin would protect neither the other equally important parts of the Empire in the East, nor, for that matter, would it protect the chief sea communications of Australia itself.

Singapore, on the other hand, is at the centre of a web of sea highways, whose commercial importance has already been indicated. It controls 20.000 miles of sea routes, and is at the centre of them all. It is approximately 1500 miles from Calcutta, Colombo, and Hong Kong, 1700 from Madras. 1800 from Darwin, 1300 from the nearest point on the Perth-Colombo sea route, 1130 from the Burma oilfields. 2430 from the nearest port in Japan 1370 from Manila, and at the front door to the East Indian oilfields. WORLD’S SEVENTH PORT Singapore, which ranks as the seventh port of the world, received 5000 oversea ships, with an aggregate tonnage of 14,700.000, in 1935; and also 880 ships of small displacement, and 593,000 tons of craft of still smaller size, carrying freights to and from the markets of the East.,

In 1887 the population of the island on which Singapore is set was 139,000; to-day it is 603.000, including 455,000 Chinese and 10,000 Europeans, of whom nearly one-half are military. DOCKS AND OIL STORES The port has five gra'ving docks, the largest of which, King’s Dock, was built to accommodate pre-Dreadnought battleships, but is not large enough for modern battle-cruisers or aircraft carriers with anti-torpedo bulges. The new naval docks, built as part of the present plan, make the base as nearly impregnable as possible. In 1905, the Government acquired the whole of the docks and wharves, and constituted a Harbour Board, whose assets to-day are valued at £ 10,000,000. Most of the oil supplies are located on Pulau (island), Brani, in a nest of tanks, about five miles from the city,

and there are other smaller installa-

tions at various parts of the island. From the city, 11 submarine cables radiate, and there are three high-pow-ered wireless stations. VITAL COMMERCIAL AIRPORT Singapore is a commercial airport of growing importance. It is one of the principal depots for the Royal Dutch air line to Java, and will be the Eastern centre of all Imperial routes. The commercial airport is now being constructed by the simple, but expensive, method of draining a great sea swamp known as the Kalang basin, near the heart of the city. This airport will be finished this year, and will have cost nearly £1.000.000. COST OF SECURITY This is the place on whose defences the British Government has spent more than £12,000,000. and must spend still more. Compared with the expenditure by Russia on its Vladivostok base, or by the United States on Pearl Harbour, Hawaii, it has been small, though these nations have little to lose in the Pacific, and Britain has much. Some of the burden of this cost has been lifted from the taxpayer at home by gifts from members of the British Commonwealth. In addition to the battleship Malaya, which cost £2,847,000. the Federated Malay States have given £2,000.000. New Zealand gave £ 1,000,000. Johorc £500.000, and Hong Kong £250,000. The Straits Settlements have given land worth probably £150,000, and for Imperial defence generally, have made gifts totalling £175,000, and have made the first of five annual contributions of £407,000. AUSTRALIAN POLICY In 1921 Australia decided that her share in the common defence should be expressed in the building of and maintenance of a naval squadron in Australian waters. It is suggested that present conditions make this policy insufficient, and that Australian establishments and expenditure should be correlated with the general British defence plans in the East, perhaps, the seconding of a few officers from Australia and New Zealand to the forces at Singapore would help to give the military, naval, and air force staffs in those dominions a conception of the importance of Singapore to their own lands.