THE BATTLE OF JAVA

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 25, 6 March 1942, Page 4

THE BATTLE OF JAVA

OUT of the welter of Japanese action in the Pacific, one thing stands paramount—the fate of Java. The world now acknowledges that the outcome of the campaign will be the turning point in the course of Japanese conduct in the. immediate future. American papers to-day are freely discussing the possibilities of a projected attack upon the continent of Australia and New Zealand. Already Australia has felt the feting of Japanese air raids. Slowly our enemies arc feeling their way, arrogantly, confidently and definitely. To deny ncAv that the conquest of Australia and New Zealand, was not under consideration by the To.jo Government, would be utter and disastrous folly. But all this turns on the fate of Java, where the tide of events to-day are anxiously watched by the peoples of all Pacific-washed lands. The story of the land fighting is muddled and meagre. The campaign lias not as yet crystallised into settled fronts, front which it is possible to form an opinion of the progress of the fighting. From 60,000 to 100,000 troops have been landed in spite of the sea and air attacks by the gallant Netherlands East Indies Navy, and the American air squadrons posted at neighbouring bases, yet to-day we have the mortification of reading that the enemy has once more established air ascendency in the conduct of the land fighting. If this is so, then the lessons of Malaya, Singapore, the Phillipines, Hongkong, Guam, Timor and a dozen othj.r le.sse'. invasions have been useless. We are still wanting in &L" power. The question which immediately arises is 'Where ii- the American Navy? Apparently moving about the Pacifi.% with desultry engagements to its credit, raids and troop landings, it still fails to throw its weight into the vital points , This policy may be termed strategy, but it becomes extremely hard to understand when the crucial battle of the Indies rages, and more and mo-re reinforcements are allowed to be rushed to the scene from bases thousands of miles away. A Dutch claim that the invaders are numerically stronger than the defenders, is hard to understand, unless, they too have made the fatal mistake of not permitting the natives to fight in defence of their homeland. It was mainl by reason of this that we were overcome in Malaya, whe*e with a population of nearly eight millions, only a hundred thousand troops were available to meet the Japanese, and these w r ere mainly composed of British and Colonial units. What better fighter than the man who fights in defence of his home and. family—yet we deprived the Malayans of this privilege and by so doing undermined his active co-operation and loyalty. On Java, where 42,000,000 people constitute the population the natives could have produced, under systemised training an a,rmy of at least two and. a half million. Such a force would be ample to beat off any invader, in spite of superior armaments, sea and air power. Even at this late hour the formation of 'guerilla,' troops would go a long way towards ensuring a final victory for the Dutch. To-day Java fights alone, while all the world realises that her struggle is identified with the fate of New Zealand and Australia.