The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1942. NEW HOPE IN CHINA.

Evening Star, Issue 24293, 7 September 1942, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 1942. NEW HOPE IN CHINA.

Ox July 7, the anniversary of the outbreak of Sino-Japanese hostilities, General Chiang Kai-shek .reaffirmed China’s determination to drive the Japanese invaders from every foot of Chinese soil. Since that day the forces under him have responded gallantly to his call for a still greater offensive effort, with the result that the enemy troops who gained a- foothold in the southern provinces are losing many of the positions they won during the first surge forward which followed their more recent landings. The almost continuous Chinese successes reported during the past few weeks may be partly due to the fact that tho Japanese have had to withdraw some troops to build up - aggressive strength elsewhere, but they are nevertheless noteworthy for the tenacity and courage that have marked the five years and three months of tho conflict. Until the Japanese made war on tho United .Nations, Chiang Kai-shek, apart from the supplies he received from the sympathetic nations, was forced to light alone against great odds by why of modern armour, and now that the Allies themselves have felt the weight of Japanese military and naval power they are able to assess more clearly than ever the value of Chinese resistance. It was this thought that must have been in Mr Fraser’s mind when, in the course of a speech in America, he paid a high tribute to Chiang Kai-shek, and said: “ If China had yielded, the Japanese probably would now be swarming over New Zealand.” China’ has started her sixth year of war with new hope, a hope born of the knowledge that, despite tho temporary loss of the main supply route from Burma, she has allies who are steadily growing in offensive strength and who, when the time is ripe, will lie able to deal terrific blows at the enemy's home bases. In the meantime Allied aeroplanes are able to contribute to and in some cases amplify Chinese land successes, particularly in the .southern “bomb Japan” provinces. The day may not be far distant when it will be possible for the United Nations to establish on the South China coast permanent bases which will be a constant source of danger to the industrial cities of Nippon. In view of tho importance of what might be called the “ battle for bases,” it is significant that Japan should bo forced to carry out withdrawals of any kind from this part of China. It means that the Allied offensive, in the South Pacific is a serious worry to her, and that the widespread nature of her troop dispositions is leaving her weak at some points. Then. too. there is in the Pacific that loss of “ face ” to be atoned for. Today’s cablegrams tell of fresh reinforcements being rushed to the Pacific zone, with tho prospect looming up of operations on a still larger scale. All the evidence available at the moment points to renewed attempts at expansion in the south, to tho exclusion of an assault on India. An attack _on Siberia, however, is still a possibility, ns strong Japanese forces have been massed in. Manchukuo for some time.