The Dominion SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1940. IN THE FAR EAST

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 45, 16 November 1940, Page 10

The Dominion SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1940. IN THE FAR EAST

hi explanation of the appointment of Air Chief Marshal Sir Robert Brooke-Popham as Commander-in-Chief m the Far East, it is stated that a stage has been reached in the disposition of territories in this region for the protection of which the British Government is responsible, demanding co-ordinated measures for controlling the situation. It has been clear for some time past, ever since, in tact, the reorganization of the Japanese Government and the announced ieorientation of its policy of expansion on more aggressive lines, and in new directions, that the possibilities of complications in the Par East could not be ignored. The implications of this new development acquired a more disturbing aspect when Japan announced her entry into the Axis military alliance. It gave a new significance to the former Berlin-Rbme-Tokio Axis, which rested originally upon the Anti-Commintern Pact against Russian Communism. Japan’s association with .the European Axis Powers has made it increasingly difficult for Britain and the United States to establish a satisfactory basis of mutual understanding which would have facilitated the friendly and harmonious settlement of the various questions at issue. It is a situation to be regretted, but there is the fact, and it would be flying in the face of realities to under-estimate the possibilities of unfavourable developments. The influence ot America’s attitude, as expressed in a determination to maintain the status quo in the Dutch East Indies and in the Pacific, may have a stabilizing effect upon the situation. As an additional factor, Anglo-American collaboration in this direction is said to have reached a stage which gives promise of a further steadying effect upon Japanese policy.