PACIFIC DESTINY

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24971, 14 August 1944, Page 3

PACIFIC DESTINY

PRESERVING PEACE IMPORTANCE OF BASES WHERE AMERICA STANDS (Reed. 0.30 p.m.) WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 Broadcasting at Pugct Sound navy yard after visiting Hawaii, the Aleutians and Alaska, President Roosevelt said he was glad to have had the opportunity of making tho trip, firstly, for conferences with General Mac Arthur and Admiral Xirnitz, and, secondly, for a firsthand view of certain bases which were of vital importance to the ending of the war and the prevention in future of any similar attack. Referring to his conferences at Hawaii with various commanders, the President said: "We talked about Pacific problems and the best methods of conducting the Pacific campaign in future. The discussions developed in complete accord, both in the understanding of the problem that confronts us and in the opinion as to the best methods of solution. Enormous Size ol Area "All of us must bear in mind the enormous size of the Pacific area and keep a mental map of the whole of it in mind. The Hawaiian Islands used to be considered an outpost. We were not allowed to fortify Guam, nor did we fortify AVake, Midway or Samoa. "Today the Hawaiian Islands are no longer mere outposts. They constitute a major base from where front-line operations are being conducted. The Hawaiian Islands helped to make possible the victories of Guadalcanal New Guinea, the MarshalLs and the Marianas. The islands will make possible future operations in China, make possible the recapture and the independence of the Philippines, and make possible the carrying of the war into the home islands of Japan itself and Tokyo." Control in Far North President Roosevelt said he was going to set up a study of Alaska ana the Aleutians as places where many veterans of this war could go to become pioneers. "From the viewpoint of _ national defence it is essential," he said, "that our control of this North-west Pacific route shall be undisputed. Everybody in Siberia and China knows we have no ambition to acquire land on the Continent of Asia. We as a people are utterly opposed to aggression or sneak attacks, but wo as a people are insistent that other nations must not, in any circumstances, commit such attacks against the United States. _ "Therefore it is essential that wo must be fully prepared to prevent them for all time to come. The word and honour of Japan cannot be trusted, but with an end to Japanese threats there is an excellent outlook for permanent peace in the whole Pacific.

The Economic Future

"It is therefore natural and proper for us to think of the economic aud commercial future. It is logical that we should foresee a great interchange of commerce between our shores aud Siberia and China. In this commercial development, Alaska and the\ Aleutians become automatic stepping-stones for trade, both by water aud cargo planes, and this means the automatic development of transportation to Alaska vja British Columbia as far north as .the Yukon.

"We understand at last the importance of the Hawaiian Islands. . It is important that we should hare other bases, forward defence bases, nearer to Japan than they lie. The same thing is true in regard to the defence of all the American republics from Mexico, past the Panama Canal and all the way down to Chile. "There are hundreds of islands in the South Pacific which bear the same relation to South America and the Panama Canal as Hawaii bears to North America. These islands are in the possession of the British Empire and the French. They are important commercially, just as they are from the defence viewpoint, for they lead to New Zealand. Australia, the Dutch Indies and the Philippines. With all these places we shall undoubtedly have a growing trade.

Protection Against Aggression "We have no desire to ask for any possessions of the United Nations, but the United Nations who are working so well with us in winning the war will, > I am confident, be glad to join with us in protection against aggression, "The self-interests of our Allies will be affected by fair and friendly collaboration with us. They, too, will gain in national security. They will gain economically. The destinies of the peoples of the whole Pacific will for many years be entwined with our destiny. "There is stirring among hundreds of millions of them the desire for the right to work out their own destinies, and they show no evidence of seeking to overrun the earth—with one exception. That exception is, and has been for many years, Japan. Removing Future Menace "It is an unfortunate fact," continued the President, "that years of proof must pass before we can trust Japan and before we can classify Japan as a member of the society of nations which seeks permanent peace and whose word we can take. "In removing the future menace of Japan to us and our continent, we are holding out the hope that other people in the Far East can. be freed from the same threat. "More than a million of our troops are overseas in the Pacific. The war is well in hand in this vast area, hut I cannot tell you when the war will he over, either' in Europe or the Far East."