RED SEA AS A GIFT TO ITALIANS

Southland Times, Issue 23512, 19 May 1938, Page 5

RED SEA AS A GIFT TO ITALIANS

BRITISH LOSS IN NEW PACT? STRATEGIC GAINS BY MUSSOLINI (SPECIALLY WRITTEN FOR THE SOUTHLAND TIMES) By LADISLAS FARAGO Overlooked in the new agreement between Italy and Great Britain are unpublicized provisions of great importance to the future course of events. These are the clauses which settle the long conflict between the two Powers for control of the Red Sea. The Red Sea is a narrow, body of water connecting the Mediterranean Sea, through the Suez Canal, with the Indian Ocean, through the Gulf„ of Aden. It is on England’s “life-line’ of Empire, the trade-route to India. It is as important strategically as Gibraltar itself. The following article reveals the extent of the diplomatic victory wrung by Italy from Britain, giving in detail the military and naval status determined by the new agreement. Its author, Ladislas Farago, gathered his information by'.personal observation on the scene. He spent years in this region as a newspaper correspondent, and is the author of books on Arabia and Abyssinia. With the signing of the Anglo-Ital-ian agreement, Italy officially and with Britain’s consent has entered the political sphere of the Red Sea, from which she has been barred by that same Britain. since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Putting his signature under the agreement, the British Ambassador to Rome (the Earl of Perth) officially sanctioned a status quo which has actually existed for years, but which until now Britain persistently has refused to accept. On the other hand, for Italy young Count Ciano, the Foreign Minister, achieved a victory second only to his country’s conquest of Ethiopia. For almost 15 years Signor Mussolini has tried hard to enter the Red Sea and there establish a zone of interest on equal footing with Britain. He spent millions on winning over Arab chiefs, and maintained a small army of political agents in the vast territory between Alexandria in Egypt and Mukalla in Hadhramaut, Southern Arabia. With Britain firmly opposing this increase of Italian Influence, Signor Mussolini’s plans were fruitless. But now, at a time when their realization seemed more remote than ever, Signor Mussolini has achieved everything he strove for and even more, while Britain has lost everything that Colonel Lawrence gained, conquered, or ever dared to dream. In the Red Sea Italy is now far better equipped and prepared that Britain. It is more than likely that very soon Italy will be able to oust the English from the Red Sea countries altogether, and take over the position of j Britain in territories which have long been considered England’s hunting grounds, vital as they are in her “lifeline of Empire.’’ . - GIBRALTAR OF RED SEA The first decisive step was taken by Italy when she extended her control to territories at the entrance to the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, a narrow passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. In February 1935 the French Foreign Minister (M. Pierre Laval) visited Signor Mussolini, and on the eve of the Ethiopian campaign presented Il Duce with the Brothers, three tiny islands in the mouth of Bab-el-Mandeb. He also gave Italy a narrow strip of land just outside the strait, torn from French Somaliland. In this newly gained territory Signor Mussolini immediately erected efficient fortifications. On the rocky ground of the Brothers heavy guns were set up, and the forts manned almost beyond their capacity with Italian askaris, native soldiers recruited in Eritrea and Italian Somaliland. With guns and guards on the rocks, Italy became the only European Power to make actual use of a natural strategic position in this sea highway from Europe to the Orient. Soon after turning the Brothers into veritable strongholds, Italy declared the three-mile limit around the islands closed to all shipping other than Italian. Several painful incidents followed, but were never mentioned in news despatches. Less than 18 months ago some primitive native sailing ships out of British Somaliland, ignorant of the strict Italian regulations, approached the fortifications within the prohibited area. The Italian guards fired, wounded some members of the crew and killed the Somali skipper of one of the dhows. When news of the incident reached Aden, the British authorities lodged a hesitant protest, to which Italy, respecting diplomatic usages, replied with lukewarm apologies. Nevertheless the sentries continued to shoot whenever a vessel flying the Union Jack ventured too near the Brothers. Some 10 months ago, when I was sailing around the Red Sea in a small British boat, I noticed the care the skipper took to stay out of range of the Italian guards. BRITAIN S AILS TO ACT Already, then, Italy was in virtual control of the ‘Gibraltar of the Red Sea,” with Britain looking on lyIt would have been easy enough for Britain to counteract the Italian activities. In a better location and larger in size than the tiny Italian possessions is the Island of Perim, in the centre of Bab-el-Mandeb and British since 1851. Until recently this island was a coaling station garrisoned with a detachment of the Aden armed police and connected with Aden by a British wireless station. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company erected huge oil tanks there and a landing field was built for planes of the Royal Air Force. But at the same time that Italy erected her fortifications on the Brothers, only eight miles away, Britain abandoned Perim. The armed police were withdrawn, the oil tanks sold as scrap iron, and the wireless station dismantled. One single native policeman, a Somali named Hassan, was left in charge of law and order, facing alone the Italian forts with their heavy guns. The Brothers are the outpost of an ingenious chain of Italian shore fortifications along the entire Eritrean coast, with centres at Assab and Massawa. This coastal defence is reinforced with naval units and an air force constantly maintained at war strength. While Britain has only two rather primitive air fields on the island of Perim and on Kamaran, an island off the coast of Yemen, with no planes stationed at either, Italy maintains up-to-date fields at six Eritrean points, with splendid planes and well-trained aviators in readiness. The British Admiralty was shocked

to learn last April that two minelayers are permanently stationed at the Italian naval base of Assab, together with a vast store of mines. As a matter of fact, so many mines were shipped there that the builders of the munitions sheds could not keep pace, and the mines were lined up on the beach, clearly visible from passing ships. At Massawa, the chief naval base, there are 40-odd pocket submarines, the first undersea boats ever to be permanently stationed in the Red Sea, where no decisive naval battle was fought even during the Great War. In the shark-infested waters outside Massawa the Italians built a practising ground for submarines, and . then informed those Powers that maintain coastal shipping in the Red Sea that three square miles of the regular shipping lanes were closed. There was a faint British protest in reply, but finally the Italian information was acknowledged and the daily bulletins of the British Admiralty announced the establishment of the Italian base, cautioning ships not to approach the danger spot, surrounded by a fence of submarine mines. NAVAL ACTIVITY It was not the presence of the submarines, but the mining of the Red Sea which caused concern to the Admiralty. Even during the World War an understanding existed among the warring Powers that the sea was to be clear of mines and safe for pilgrim ships carrying Moslems from Africa to Jeddah, the port of Mecca. Eighteen years later Italy was the first Power to violate this agreement, yet Britain undertook no steps to persuade Italy to remove her mines. The Italian naval vessels were anything but idle. At regular intervals both the destroyers and the submarines left their bases, steamed out into the sea—officially only to keep the sailors active, but in fact to survey the Red Sea. All the neglected, deserted, forgotten Red Sea islands were visited by these boats, the Italians spending weeks measuring the depth for possible anchorage, and surveying the little sheltered bays to turn them into emergency harbours for the Italian A further step in consolidating her position in the Red Sea was Italy’s occupation of one of the four lighthouses in the southern part of the Red Sea, which up to then had been tended by Britain. These four lights are on Perim, Abu Ail, Centre Peak and Jebel Ter, coral islands with no human population, sparse vegetation, only a few antelopes and innumerable birds. Britain manned the lights with Egyptian and Maltese personnel. These lights were virtual no-man’s lands and a heavy financial burden on the limited revenue of the Aden Board of Trade. Britain therefore was relieved when in October 1932 a gale destroyed the one on Centre Peak. Britain withdrew the crew and left the island to her fate. Hardly had the British left the island when Italy took possession. Engineers were sent from Massawa, the house was rebuilt and the light put in working order. The operation was carried out in complete secrecy, Italy expecting British objections. The British Admiralty learned of it only when the light was working again under Italian control. With the Italian officers in charge of the lighthouse, Italy sent a detachment of askaris “to protect the light against Arab banditry,” an excuse which was not justified by the past experience of the British. The little harbour at Centre Peak was extended and modernized, and is today efficient enough to harbour destroyers and submarines, some of which are regularly stationed there now. Italy now considers the island her possession. The recent Anglo-Italian agreement not only accepts this status, which came into existence without legal grounds, but goes even further and delivers to Italy two more of the remaining three lights. Tlie new treaty permits “the presence of such persons as are required for the maintenance of lights on these islands.” -It does not state whether the persons required should be Italians or Britons, but there can be no doubt that Italy will interpret this passage to mean permitting the presence of Italian officials on the lights. “AN EASTER GIFT” Even more important is Britain’s consent to the presence of Italian officials on the islands of Great Harnish, Little Harnish, and Jeben Soghair—names which may mean nothing to New Zealand ears, but which have immense strategic importance for Italy. Only two months ago the presence of “Italian officials” on these islands would have resulted in armed British protest —while today Italy receives the islands as an Easter gift, no doubt to consider them Italian possessions forthwith and to mark them accordingly on future Italian maps. To Italy their main importance is in their closeness to the eastern shore of the Red Sea. Troops on them can control not only the shipping in the regular Red Sea lanes, but also the Yemen coast of the Arabian Peninsula, some five miles away. Jeben Scghair, the most important of this group, is 10 miles long and seven miles wide, with a peak 2047 ft high. Its southern bay offers a perfect anchorage and ■ drinking water comes from inland. Although the Turks maintained a small garrison there, the British apparently never thought of turning it into a British garrison. His Majestyls survey ships regularly dropped anchor in the south bay to give the officers a day of good shooting, but while using the island as a hunting preserve, Britain made no use. of its strategic position. What Britain neglected, Italy will soon do. The plans are ready in Massawa, and within a fortnight Italian army officers will be despatched to the Harnish group and to Jebel Soghair, to erect Italian fortifications just as they did when the Brothers fell into their hands. Thus Italy emerges from the negotiations with small territorial gains of a strategic importance far greater than their size. She gains something for which she has been striving for more than fifteen years: a definite foothold near the eastern shore of the Red Sea. With these islands under Italian control Italy’s radius of action is considerably enlarged. It was a peaceful penetration, and yet it has war in its womb. Time will come, perhaps sooner than it is expected, when Britain will want to reclaim these lost Edens, and she will be able to do so only by force, as Italy will never renounce her rights.