RANDOM NOTES

Dominion, Volume 38, Issue 278, 23 August 1945, Page 6

RANDOM NOTES

(By Kickshaws.) It is declared that a bank in Bowen Street is giving trouble. Must be a sort of sympathetic gesture.

Chinese women in the bill country are stated to make excellent wool yarners. Probably they don’t make as good wool yarners as New Zealand women make tea yarners.

“The reward to American soldiers for Japanese prisoners which had to be discontinued owing to the large number captured, reminds one of the yarn tola about the huge haul of ‘Eyetie' prisoners made in Africa,” says "J.E.A.” “The colonel of a Scottish regiment, was somewhat concerned because his men were, not bringing iu nearly the number ot prisoners that others were, so he made an offer of 30/- a thousand. Very shortly afterward a Scots private turned up with a bag of 2000 prisoners—for which the colonel paid him. . He was not unnaturally curious as to how one man captured so many in such a short time, and questioned the man in a kindly Way. ‘Weel, sorr, it was this way,’ the man replied. ‘Ah met an Aussie who was bringing in 3000, an ah was able to buy 2000 off him for 10/- a thousand.’ ”

* * * Whatever the pros and cons regarding American naval and air bases in the Pacific, it is not possible to take an intelligent interest iu the problem unless one appreciates the various requirements of bases of this type. It is quite obvious that some major power, or several of them together, must be responsible for the Pacific area. If only a scheme had been worked out between Britain and America and the Netherlands before the present war, it is doubtful if . Jgpan could have run amok. The best moment for such a scheme would have been shortly after Great War I, when Britain broke off relations with Japan and virtually linked her fate in the Pacific with that of America. Actually no such scheme eventuated.“ Britain admittedly developed her base at Singapore, but omitted to'place a dog in the kennel. It is to be hoped that logical common sense will prevail this time.

The naval base? developed by Britain have not just.grown haphazardly. They have developed according to a systematic pattern. The main concern of a maritime Power such as Britain is to have available a series of bases from whieh naval units can operate to cover all die oceans in which Britain has interests. This is actually almost the whole world. The fundamental idea was to develop bases at such a distance apart that naval craft would always be within “eooee” of one base or another. In actual fact'the distances between bases for this ideal work out at between 2000 and 3000 miles. The long chain of bases starting in Britain and extending via Gibraltar, Malta, Alexandria. Port Said, Ceylon, to Singapore, roughly follows this fundamental spacing. Those who developed our naval bases also laid down quite sensibly that the main bases should be so sited as to be in the neighbourhood of the junction of as many shipping routes as possible. At those sites would be found the chief shipping concentrations, and in war it would ne at those spots that an enemy would strike. The logical results of these fundamental specifications have stood Britain and her Empire in good stead right up to the time when the aeroplane became a factor.

The sites selected for naval bases may not all be ideal, but even so an ideal was held in view. The ideal base is sited sufficiently remote from nearby areas which may be hostile, to enable crews and personnel to rest and recuperate. Quite obviously a base on the front door of a potential enemy may be a somewhat restless spot in time of war. Moreover, it is considered desirable that the local population should be friendly to Britain. This lation is regarded as a possible recruiting source for workers to man the base. Such things as good climate and water are also involved in the ideal base. If the site selected has behind it large reserves of raw material required for use in the base, so much the better. This applies specially to fuel. Bases which consist of a bare island demand that a proportion of the naval craft be set aside for convoy work to maintain the base, and so are not available for other duties. Such details as good harbours and the like are of course of great importance. One does not lay down a naval base on a. coast consisting of granite cliffs and with a huge swell Admittedly modern scientific progress has now caused some of the bases to fall far from the ideal.

It is probable that the aeroplane has done more than anything else to make many existing oeean bases out of date. The aeroplane has not affected the ideal; it has only made it more difficult to attain. Such bases as Gibraltar, Malta. Port Said and Singapore depend for their security on friendly neighbours. Indeed, any nayal base close to continental land masses is today unable to give security and rest unless the land masses are in friendly hands. For that reason Gibraltar failed to come up entirely to requirements during the recent war. Malta ceased to remain a naval base end became a nautical outpost, a thorn in the side of Mussolini. Singapore ceased to fulfil an important requirement of a base exactly when French Indo-China came under Japanese control. In the recent war only two bases really fuJhlled nearly all requirements—New Zealand and Ceylon. New Zealand, unfortunately, was situated somewhat remote from the main shipping lanes. It will be seen, therefore, that the vrhole question of naval bases must bejn the melting pot now that Great War II is over. The truth is that most of Britain’s bases do not now measure up to the requirements demanded of them, largely because of the aeroplane. * *

Singapore can only be reinstituted as a naval base if it can be guaranteed that no land power within 1000 miles of .it is likely ever to be hostile to Britain and her Empire. The tendency must be to site modern bases on islands iu the middle of oceans as remote from land masses as possbile. This is exactly what the Japanese had done in their mandated islands. .When they laid down their bases for Great War II the Japanese were not hampered by already having existing bases. They therefore designed them with the full knowledge that the aeroplane had modified siting requirements. It is probable that the Truk Islands are site No. 1 for a naval and air base for any Power interested in the Pacific. They only fail to reach the ideal as regards supplies of raw materials on the spot. Other islands in the western Pacific also provide excellent sites for bases. All these sites were in Japanese hands. Today they are available to the Allies. It is essential that suitable sites lie developed as bases. In view, of the fact that more than one Power is interested, Britain, the United States and the Netherlands, for example—the whole problem should be solved on international rather than national levels. The range of the aeroplane is so great that no one Power can hope to locate a series of really modern bases without the co-opera-tion of her friendly neighbours. * * a

From the point of view of folk in New Zealand, the outcome of the naval base problem in the Pacific is life or death. Though we contributed over £1.000.000 toward the Singapore base,, that base failed to fulfil so many requirements when France fell and Japan entered the war that the money spent on it was wasted. The truth is that, no small country can hope to institute unaided even one main naval and air base on account of the huge cost. New Zealanders will attain, or not attain, reasonable security only as a result of postwar plans for Pacific bases. We are fortunate that at Auckland we have a naval base which is almost the only one which comes within reach of the modern ideal. In conjunction with Fiji it proved to be tile only link witli friendly navies and aircraft during those critical days of 1941 and 1942. Modern requirements in the Pacific now demand a series of far-flung liases starting perhaps with Singapore as an outpost, thence north-eastward via the Dutch East Indies to the mandated islands and Pearl Harbour, It would be desirable to locate advanced air and naval liases in the Japane-.' islands themselves. It is to bo hoped that the Powers interested in the Pacific think big and act in unison on this vital aspect of New Zealand’s security.

“Will you please let me know if there are any restrictions on gold mining in New. Guinea asks "A Subscriber.” It is understood that it is still possible to neg a claim in tile old mandated territory of Papua under regulations very similar to those prevailing iu New Zealand and Australia. Just how much Jap. jand and Australia.