NAVAL POWERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22319, 17 January 1936, Page 9

NAVAL POWERS

FUTURE FLEETS JAPANESE DEMAND DOMINION'S INTERESTS STRONG OPPOSITION By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received January 16, 6.35 p.m.) LONDON. Jan. 15 The First Lord.of the Admiralty, Viscount Monsell, in the course of a speech at to-day's sitting of the First Committee of the Naval Conference, said the United Kingdom could not subscribe to the strategical theory that naval needs were purely relative, and that territories could j be denuded of their essential de- J fences for the concentration of the ; whole Fleet in distant waters. " Wo believe," said Lord Monsell, j "that the provisions of the Washington i Treaty, which maintain the status quo j regarding those parts of the Pacific in ■ which Japan is specifically interested j offer the best guarantee of security, i which we conceive to be in accordance j with the Japanese principle of non- j menace and iK'n-aggression." Mr. Norman Davis (United States) | said the principle of a common upper ; limit was not an abandonment but a ! continuance of the ratio system on a ! basis of parity, without taking into I account varying needs. Equality in > naval armament was incompatible with : and contradictory to equality of security. Proportional Reduction Favoured The United States was not willing to consent to any lessening of relative security, particularly in the absence of a greater assurance than at present that to do so would promote peace. America, however, favoured an all-round proportional reduction of strengths. It was impossible to distinguish between offensive and defensive warships. The definition depended upon the use mado of them. Mr. McLaren, speaking on behalf of Mr. S. M. Bruce, who is on holiday, said Australia could not accept an interpretation which meant wider responsibilities and entitled the Empire only to forces similar to those of a Power with relatively narrow obligations. There was no analogy between the necessities of Japan and those of the British Empire. New Zealand's Dependence Upon Navy Sir James Parr (New Zealand), in supporting Lord Monsell, recalled Admiral Nagano's declaration of December 2 that Japan desired a just and fair agreement on disarmament which would secure to each country adequate national defence. This, Sir James said, was incompatible with the claim to a common upper limit. Laying stress upon New Zealand's isolation, Sir James said: "Our small forces are a component part of the British Navy, on which we are absolutely dependent for our national security. The Japanese proposal would mean that the Empire's naval forces would be reduced by about 40 per cent, which is below the strength of the present Japanese forces. "Even the strength of 50 cruisers now permitted to tho whole Empire would be drastically reduced, making almost negligible Britain's protection of New Zealand. Can this really be called a fair and just agreement? Can New Zealand lightly agree to such a startling reduction? T 'We must seek security not only now but for the future. It is impossible to achieve it by any system based on a common upper limit." Other Dominions Oppose Proposal The delegates representing Canada, South Africa and India all opposed the Japanese proposal. Mr. J. W. Dulanty (Irish Free State) passed no opinion on the merits of tho Japanese plan, but asked: "What would be tho position of tho members of the British Commonwealth if all the Powers were entitled to build up to a common limit?" He said if that were accorded the Free State would possess the same theoretical right.

JAPAN'S ATTITUDE

« PLAINLY UNREASONABLE " COMMENT BY TIMES Times Cable LONDON, Jan. 15 The Times says Japan's attitude is plainly unreasonable. It is explainable only by the dominating influence exercised at Tokio by elements which have neither the knowledge nor the wish to understand the world outside of Japan. The conference will go on and when sufficient progress has been made, the other naval Powers, for instance, Germany and Russia, will probably be invited to participate in working out a new treaty which will bo an effective contribution to the cause of peace and disarmament. The world will continue to desire Japan's co-operatiou in spite of her withdrawal. PRESS IN TOKIO VIEWS ON DEVELOPMENT TOKTO, Jan. 15 The newspapers in Tokio are not surprised at the breakdown of the Naval Conference. They blame Britain and America, and say that Japan is not afraid of a naval race. They foreshadow a boom in the armaments industries. Financial circles, however, are uneasy at the prospect of swelling the Budget.