THE “STIMSON DOCTRINE.”

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18776, 26 October 1932, Page 6

THE “STIMSON DOCTRINE.”

Judging from the tone of the Japanese press and from the reported statement of a representative of the Japanese Foreign Office, Japan does not love the “ Stimson doctrine.” This is not surprising. 'lt is no exaggeration to say that the doctrine of nonrecognition, first put forward by Mr Stimson in a letter to Senator Borah and emphatically repeated by him in a recent speech in New York, forms a more serious obstacle to the working out of Japan’s Manchurian policy than anything so far achieved by the League Council or Assembly, by the Twelve, or by the Nineteen. The best that can be said for the League is that It has endorsed the “ Stimson doctrine;” the best that can be hoped for from it is that its members will one and all refuse to recognise territorial changes in China brought about by means not compatible with the Kellogg Pact and the Covenant. As the Lytton Commission has practically reported that Japan has qualified as a Covenant-breaking Power by occupying Manchuria and driving out all the existing authorities there, It is difficult to see what the League can do except apply the “ Stimson dootrlne.” Measures such as withdrawing ambassadors, which would have been effective in the earlier stages of the dispute, are now out of the question; and Japan has shown that, of all nations, she Is the least susceptible to moral pressure. What precisely will be the result of a refusal on the part of the League Powers and of the United States to recognise the existing situation in Manchuria remains to be seen. At least it is clear that such a prospect is not pleasing to Japan, who asserts In the same breath that she has religiously fulfilled her obligations under the Kellogg Pact and the League Covenant and that the Powers have no right to refuse to recognise a situation brought about in contravention of these agreements.