THE UNEASY EAST.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 152, 15 July 1937, Page 4

THE UNEASY EAST.

After a considerable period of apparent quiescence, international trouble would seem to be bubbling up again in the Far East. It was only last week that we had word of posslKle conflict between Russia and Japan. This arose from a dispute as to the right to occupy certain islands in the Amur river, which forms the boundary between Russian Siberia and the Kingdom of Manchukuo, ereated by Japan out of the most northerly of the provinces of the Chinese Republic and now virtually a Japanese protectorate. The Amur is one of Eastern Agia's big, nayigable rivers and thus of great .commercial value to both Russia and Manchukuo, but probably of considerably more to the former than to the latter. Russia, in breach, so Japan said, of the frontier agreement ente/ed into, occupied some islands in the river that are of strategic importance and refused to withdraw from them. This was followed by some ljttle exchange of arojed hostilities that threatened for a time to develop into something mucb more serious. However, Russia saw fit to pursue the matter no further in a military way and abandoned occupation of the islands. So for the time being further trouble on this score was averted, but with Japan naturally feeling that she had scored something of a victory over her big continental rival for supremacv in Eastern Asia. Of much more sinister aspect, however, are the clashes of which we are now hearing between military forces of China and Japan in the immediate neighbourhood of China's old ^ political capital, Peiping, better known to most of us by its former name of Peking. The first news of this difficulty attributed it to Chinese troops having opened fire on a Japanese force, mistaking it for one of the bands of Chinese brigands that still infest the country, and it looked as if, with this explanation given, it would be smoothed out. Later reports, however, point to this being far from the actual case, for it is now said thkt opposing Chinese and Japanese forces have become much more deeply and actively involved, with the Japanese pushing themselves forward much closer to the city and there can as yet be no saying .as to how matters may eventually shape themselves. Japan, as she has previously done under similar curcumstances, seeks to lay the blame for this new crisis at China's door, and to make it a pretext for further encroachment on Chinese territory. It appears very much, however, as if China were not going to prove as submissive as hitherto to Japanese intrusion, and probably she is very much better prepared to offer some effective resistance. It would certainly appear from all accounts that, under Chiang Kai-shek, China, in a general way, is very much' more of a united nation than it has been for many years, and current messages would suggest that in no way if it more at one than in a determination to check Japan 's aggressive and acquisitive movements. Even the rebellious Communist section, it is claimed, has declared itself ready to co-operate with the Government towards this end, indeed is loud in blaming the Nanking (government for not having earlier taken a more determined military stand, instead of resorting to diplomatic negotiations. v It is perhaps a little bit difficult for us to think of the Chinese as a people capable of conducting anything like a big war with so well proved a military country as Japan. But it has to be taken into account that they have numbers vastly on their side and that they would be fighting on their home front, while transport in sufficient numbers must always prove a problem for Japan. Beyond this, the Chinese armies are now very much better equipped and trained than heretofore, so that, assuming the internal gnity of purpose that is claimed, they may not prove as easy a mark as Japan may think. There is also another feature to be taken into account, and that is that relations between Russia and China are now much more friendly than they have been and that Russia might wel] look upon Japan's involvement in a war with China as affording an excellent opportunity for getting even with Japan, who would find it a pretty heavy undertaking to carry on campaigns on two pretty widely separated fronts. It is, moreover, to be said that in Japan itself there is no great unanimity with regard to pursuing further the continental adventure which the hitherto dominating militaristic cult instituted and have so far maintained.