THE WORLD FORGETTING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 48, 16 February 1943, Page 4

THE WORLD FORGETTING

FORCED into the background by the tide of swift events which are occurring almost hourly in Europe, the war in China is apt to be regarded as a very secondary affair from the viewpoint of Allied strategy, engaged in winning the war. Never however were we guilty of a graver mistake. We must to-day be prepared to admit that but for gallant China and the. heroic patriotism of her Commander in Chief, the China incident would have been closed within fcix months of its inception and the forces of Nippon freed again to play their vital part in coalition with the Axis nations at a time when, to put it bluntly Britain had been forced to her knees. To-day a united China stands boldly in the path of the aggressor. Japan in the face of the dogged resistance to her invasion is forced to maintain something resembling 5,000,000 men, not merely to light the forces of Chiang ,Kai Chek but 'to hold her own areas of occupation where the underground resistance is described as being far more intensive than in any country of occupied Europe. China to-day represents to Imperial Japan an open and bleeding sore which she is forced to sustain by the wastage of her substance and of her manpower,. The war with the indomitable Marshall must go on. There will be no separate: peace and no terms under his leadership and to him most of all to-day, the Allied nations must raise a hand in recognition of the vital part which his country under his leadership* has played in upsetting the plans for world dominance by the Dictatorships. But it would appear that t]ie cause of China is still regarded as a smaller consideration when compared with the struggle against Hitler. This is a false doctrine, which the United Nations may yet live to regret in spite of the victories of the: new year. Signs of Chinese impatience at the Allied policy of giving the Pacific war second place are not calculated to make for a common understanding between the forces of freedom. We are face to face to-day with a nation of fanatical courage which has as yet suffered no major reverses on land except on one front —in China. The five million men there serve to make China the greatest undertaking of all Japan's conquests. By comparison the Phillipines, Malaya and East Indies are mere asides. And yet, our Leaders seem blind to the burning necessity of assisting thiscountry to the utmost. The Burma Road traffic, which flowed so smoothly into the great heart of China, is now permanently sealed. Practically all her seaboard is blockaded, and the .only active Allied assitance is the posting of a few brave squadrons of airmen from America, whose remarkable record has endeared them to the Chinese na-) tion. In the meantime, China fights on, manufacturing her own arms but relying more upon personal valour than upon modern weapons of war. To her wonderful fighting sons, which' have held the hitherto unconquerable Japanese army at bay for five weary, heartbreaking years, is surely owed not merely our regard and admiration, but also our material support by way of armaments and men.' Only in this way can we stem the talk of a separate peace; only in this way can we show our earnestness and allegiance, which a broad section of the Chinese military are already beginning to doubt. Unless more aid to China is forthcoming readily and liberally we may yet see the extension of the Pacific war and the prolongation of the struggle; with a nation benefit of moral sense and decency standards.