NEW ZEALAND NAVY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19349, 9 December 1924, Page 8

NEW ZEALAND NAVY.

REPRESENTATION AT CONFERENCE. 1 COMBINED MANOEUVRES SUGGESTED, (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, December 8. In view of the general situation in the Pacific and the expectation that the British Government will proceed with the construction of the Singapore base, great importance is attached to the naval conference and the concentration of the fleet’s units which is to take place at Singapore next February for the purpose of discussing strategical problems. Important as the conference will be, however, the Minister of Defence (the Hon. Sir R. Heaton Rhodes) stated to-day that none of the decisions reached will be binding on New Zealand until they are first of all ratified by Parliament. In this respect the naval conference’s decisions would be similar to those of the Imperial Conferences. The New Zealand division of th© Royal Navy will be represented at the conference by the naval adviser to the Government, Commodore Alister Beal, and during hif absence Commander Stopford will take command of H.M.S. Dunedin, flagship of the New Zealand division. The conference is to be one of senior officers and the Admiralty has particularly asked that senior naval officers on the New Zealand station should attend to participate in the discussions.

Unfortunately the New Zealand division of the Royal Navy will riot be represented by a fleet unit. H.M.S. Dunedin has only recently returned from Australian waters, where she carried out exercises with the Royal Australian Navy. She will be due towards the middle of next year to go on the usual South Sea Islands patrol cruise. In view of her recent Australian cruise both members of the Government and the naval staff agree that it is inadvisable that the ship should be absent from New Zealand waters for any further lengthy period. It is expected that a New Zealand second cruiser of a similar type to H.M.S. Dunedin will be on this station some time next year. Sir R. Heaton Rhodes admits that ’had the dominion such a second cruiser at the present juncture the question of the New Zealand naval division’s representation at Singapore in February would have been solved. The possibility of the Singapore conference agreeing to recommend the holding of occasional combined manoeuvres by British warships on the China, East Indies, Australian; gnd New Z.ealand stations was mentibtftld Sir R. Heaton Rhodes. The Minister remarked that, the Commodore would not be in a position to commit himself to any such arrangement owing to the decision of the conference being subject to parliamentary ratification. ’Moreover, the- movements of New Zealand ships in peace time were controlled by the Government, but, he readily admitted the supreme value which would attach to combined exercises. That had been attested by the success which had attended the participation of H.M.S. Chatham and H.M.S. Dunedin with the Australian Navy in squadron work. Spirit competition as between ship and ship was aroused. The result this had in increasing efficiency was obvious.

Sir R. Heaton Rhodes concluded by suggesting that the time might come when vessels of the British China squadron would visit these waters occasionally. Then no doubt the opportunity would be taken to carry out combined exercises with ships in the New Zealand Division.