THE INDIAN DISPUTE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24993, 13 August 1942, Page 5

THE INDIAN DISPUTE

CHiNA"S ATTITUDE (Rec. 7 p.m.) CHUNGKING, Aug. 11. Asked whether China was willing to mediate in the Indian dispute, a spokesman replied: "If there is anything China can do we will be very glad to do it." He declined to reveal whether the British authorities had approached Chungking for mediation, but said he had accepted an invitation to visit the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow, shortly. Asked whether he regarded Mr Gandhi's release a prerequisite to a British-Indian settlement, he said the Chinese Government had no idea of the procedure for reaching a settlement, and added that any suggestions now might not be helpful. ne also asserted that although legally the Indian problem was a domestic British problem, it was the moral concern of all the United Nations, and had a direct bearing upon the future prospects of a better world order. It might prove helpful, he said, to have a Pacific charter in which specific assurances would ,be given. Nationalism could not be suppressed by weapons alone. Asked whether the comments in the Chinese press, which fully supported India's demand for independence, were, hurting Chinese and British relations, the spokesman said: "I hope that Chinese and British relations cannot be affected in the least .by any episode." He issued a warning that continuation of disturbances in India would interfere with China's war supplies, and said that Chinese intelligence officers had indicated that Japan was preparing to attack India in the autumn. Japanese transports had delivered fresh divisions on July 27-28 at Haiphong and Saigon (Indo-China), where they had entrained for Siam and Burma, from which places they could attack eastern India. The Japanese had also concentrated a large group of warships at northern Formosa, probably for an attack on Fukien. Concerning the Solomons, the spokesman said the Allied attack was a very significant and very timely offensive action, and one of the most heartening pieces of news received.