THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNNSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1921. THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18350, 14 September 1921, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES WEDNNSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 1921. THE DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE.

The information, which was received this week from New York, that a direct exchange of opinions between the Japanese Ambassador and Mr Hughes, Secretary of State, has led to the formation of a conclusion in favour of the negotiation of a treaty between the' United States and the Allied Powers respecting the control of the mandated territories, may not be without significance in its relation to the deliberations of the representatives, of* the Powers at the approaching Disarmament Conference. America is traditionally shy of treaties, but it is suggested that she may be swayed by considerations bearing upon the control of the territories which are being administered under mandate. It would seem probable enough- that as regards both disarmament and the future of the Pacific, certain of the Powers that are to be represented at the Washington Conference are likely to be impressed with the importance, and utility of treaty relationships. A treaty, for example, to which the United States, and, if possible, China would subscribe in association with Great Britain and Japan with the object of ensuring the peace of the Pacific, would have a very great deal to commend it. It is a reasonable assumption that such an extension of the understanding upon which Great Britain and Japan have proceeded l for nearly twenty years would operate effectively in removing that distrust of the AngloJapanese Agreement which ' is said to have gained a particular hold in China and the United States. The AngloJapanese Alliance has been the subject of much controversy. In a recent article in the Contemporary Review Mr Robert Young, editor of The Japan Chronicle, Examines critically its influence and effects, and his verdict is not flattering to it. He is more concerned, it is true,, to point out what the Alliance has not achieved in the direction of the fulfilment of the purposes for which it was avowedly designed, than to indicate those l useful ends which it has actually served. To quote his summing up:.—

It has not maintained peace. It has failed to preserve the independence of Korea or strengthen the integrity of China. It has .not succeeded in securing “the common interest” of all Powers in China, or established the principle of equal opportunities there for the commerce and industry of all nations. While it has failed to achieve any one of the objects for which it was avowedly designed, the Anglo-Japanesc Alliance has aroused the deepest resentment in China, and intense suspicion in America. It is the cause: of much of the ili'-feoling that prevails between China and Japan. It is antagonistic to the whole scheme of the League of Nations, for an alliance within the League is an anachronism that can only have a prejudicial effect on the whole conception of the Covenant. The militarists of Japan and of Britain, supported by their respective Foreign Offices, favour the Alliance, for it carries out the unexpressed objects for which it was reallv framed. But the agreement is wholly against the real interests of the British and Japanese peoples, which consist in the establishment of good relations and friendship with all nations.

There is another side to the case, which, as we have seen, admits of effective argument, but into that there is no present occasion to enter. If anything is 1 6 be expected, however, of the Disarmament Conference, it is reasonable to hope that its outcome may be the adjustment of the problems of the Pacific to/the satisfaction of all the Powers interested. Out. of the fact that the community of interest of these Powers will be brought before their statesmen Under unprecedented conditions, realisation of the advantages of a comprehensive understanding may well be born. And the point may at once he made that a tripartite treaty with Great Britain, the United States, and Japan as the signatories—it may be assumed that owing to internal dissensions China could not be reckoned with as a party to such an agreement at present—would not involve antagonism to the League of Nations, such as Mr Robert Young lays at the door of tho Anglo-Japanese Alliance, for the simple reason that tho United States is not a member of the League;