The Southland Times. THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1942. Japan Faces a New Situation

Southland Times, Issue 24833, 27 August 1942, Page 4

The Southland Times. THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1942. Japan Faces a New Situation

■DEPORTS of a big sea and air II battle in the Solomon Islands indicate that the Japanese are making their expected counter-attack. At the same time the news from China is full of interesting possibilities. For some weeks past the Japanese have been falling back in Chekiang and Kiangsi, where they had only recently launched heavy offensives. It would be pleasant to be able to believe that they were being pushed back by a victorious enemy. But the Chinese themselves have no illusions on this matter. An Army newspaper has suggested that the troops are withdrawing to facilitate preparations for an attack on Australia, India or. Siberia. The Chinese military spokesman has declared that 50,000 Japanese troops were moved from Chekiang to southern Shansi, and quoted reports that they are planning to cross the Yellow River. This great river (usually mapped as the Hwang Ho) marks the western limits of Japanese aggression in North China. According to the Chinese spokesman, the Japanese forces in Shansi are not strong enough to cut off the north-west supply route. But the attempt might be made. The motor road which links Chungking to the supply line from Russia has its eastern terminus at Sian, which is only about 100 miles from Japanese occupied territory. To cut the road effectively, however, the enemy would have to advance much further, possibly as far as Lanchow. If the attack were made it could be interpreted either as part of the encirclement of China (a process carried a long way by the occupation of Burma), or as part of a larger move against Eastern Russia. The fact that these troop movements are accompanied by d withdrawal in Kiangsi and Chekiang seems to support the second alternative. An attack on Russia’s maritime provinces may soon become impracticable. But if the Japanese were unable to resist the strategic opportunity presented by the Red Army’s difficulties in the west they could not make a Siberian campaign their sole military enterprise. Their policy is dominated by the need to defend a new empire. The battle for the Solomons has created a situation which did not exist when the Chekiang offensive was launched. At that time the Japanese, alarmed by the bombing of Tokyo, were anxious to check the growth of American air power inside China. They may still believe that the Americans intend to build up strong forces in east Asia. But the immediate danger comes from the south. The occupation of the southern group in the Solomons brings the Japanese into conflict with the Americans in an area that commands the approaches to the East Indies. There is also a possibility that the southern drive .will be followed by an attack in the north, where the Japanese have precariously established themselves in the Aleutians. The enemy must therefore accept the American challenge. Hitherto the Japanese have attacked for the purpose of obtaining new territory. Now, for the first time, they are fighting to recover the initiative. It is not likely that they will concentrate upon the one objective. They still have the advantage in bases and in shorter communications. But they cannot advance safely in the south while American warships are in the Tulagi anchorage. The battle now raging may confirm the security of New Zealand, or dangerously weaken it. It may also be followed by further troop movements in China and on the eastern borders of Russia. The Japanese will not yet pass from attack to defence. But if they lose the battle of the Solomons they will attack in the interests of a defensive strategy.