JAPANESE PLANS IN FAR EAST

Southland Times, Issue 23682, 3 December 1938, Page 7

JAPANESE PLANS IN FAR EAST

CHINA TO FILL ROLE OF AGRICULTURIST TOKYO, December 1. “The Japanese plan for a new order in the Far East means mutual aid between China and Japan, politically, economically and culturally and the abandonment of the maxims hitherto regarded as sacrosanct in relation to China and Manchukuo,” commented Mr Hachiro Arita, in taking over the Foreign Ministry. The fact that he did not repeat the assurances of her ambassadors that Japan would adhere to the “open door” in China and recent authoritative utterances suggest that China’s role will be that of an agriculturist supplying raw materials for Manchukuo’s heavy industries and coal and iron, with Japan as a general mentor and military protector. The Hong Kong correspondent of The Times says that refugees from the district give reports of a Japanese retirement from the Hong Kong border, for which reason they hesitate to return to their homes. The Japanese face opposition in South Shansi, which threatens to hold up the drive towards Sian. Traffic on the Tunghai railway, which has been the Japanese objective for months past, has not yet stopped. A quarter of a million Chinese oppose the Japanese advance in North Honan.

AUSTRALIAN REFUSAL TO LOAD PIG IRON ULTIMATUM BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT (Received December 2, 5.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, December !. Officials of the Waterside Workers’ Union and other local unions will meet at Port Kembla next Sunday to decide the course of action in response to the Federal Government’s ultimatum for refusal to load pig iron on the steamer Dalfram.