DISARMAMENT

Southland Times, Issue 20082, 20 January 1927, Page 5

DISARMAMENT

BRITISH ATTITUDE DEFENCE OF TRADE ROUTES ESSENTIAL EMPIRE DISARMAMENT DELEGATION PRONOUNCEMENT (By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright.) Geneva, January 18. The British attitude towards disarmament is defined in an official declaration by the British Empire’s Disarm ament Delegation which emphasises the position of an insular country with large overseas possessions whose interests are wholly different from those of a Continental maritime Empire. It maintains a navy for two reasons, firstly, for safeguarding trade routes for commerce and food; and secondly, for the defence of its own coasts and outlying coasts in its Empire. Therefore it requires a navy which is only partially affected by the size of the neighbouring navies. The same principle applies in regard to armies. Continental armies are primarily maintained to prevent aggression. A maritime empire’s army is maintained to supply the needs of its oversea commitments. The size of its army is therefore practically independent of the size of neighbouring armies. The difference does not apply to the air forces maintained by the two different types of country since the air is a medium free from limitations necessarily limiting the action of land and sea forces. It follows that the air forces must bear a direct relation to the air forces available in neighbouring countries. The Declaration concludes: “The three services are so distinct as to warrant consideration separately and not in combination.”—Times.