NAVAL CONFERENCE

Taranaki Daily News, 26 October 1935, Page 23 (Supplement)

NAVAL CONFERENCE

INVITATION TO UNITED STATES. PREPARED FOR ACCEPTANCE. tiy Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Washington, October 23. The Navy Department revealed to-day that it expects an invitation from the British Government to attend a naval conference at London early in December, and that the Government is prepared to accept. Admiral Standley, chief of naval operations, has tentatively been selected leader of the technical delegation, while if a diplomatic representative is necessary Mr. Norman Davis or the Ambassador, Mr. Bingham, will probably serve. ' = In a Press interview Mr. Swanson, Naval Secretary, indicated that the department felt the conference would largely be a discussion of routine naval matters. Asked directly regarding ratios -he declared that he still favoured the 5-5-3 ratio as agreed at the Washington conference. . j ' SEARCH FOR NAVAL AGREEMENT. EXPIRY OF TREATIES NEXT YEAR. British Wireless. Rugby, Oct. 23. Although no invitations have yet been issued, it is probable that a -naval conference will be held at' London before the end of the year in an attempt to reach a new naval limitation agreement to take the place of the Washington and London Treaties, which will expire at the end of next year. In anticipation of such a conference, which is . provided for under these treaties, the Powers which, are parties to them have been consulted during recent months and considerable progress nas been made. In well-informed quarters .the hope <3 expressed that if the difficulties in die way of an agreement upon quantitative limitation should prove insuperable use ful work may be done by the new conference’s agreeing upon qualitative limitations. The Powers participating in the conference w’ould be Britain, United States, Japan, France and Italy.