NAVAL LIMITATION

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 84, 30 June 1927, Page 13

NAVAL LIMITATION

SOME WILD GUESSING JAPAN AND BRITAIN QUESTION OF SINGAPORE BASE By Cable. —Press Association. —Copyright Reed. 9.41 a.m. GENEVA, Wednesday. TN the absence of an authoritative announcement of any agreement, foreign journalists, notably the Americans, are indulging in the wildest guessing. The latest canard is that Japan is bargaining to support Britains policy regarding capita) ships, provided that Japan is allowed to raise the question of the Singapore base. There is the fullest justification for saying that Japan has not the slightest intention of directly raising the Singapore question, though perhaps mention of it will inevitably crop up when America claims equality with Britain in cruisers, on the ground that she needs more because she does not possess a chain of bases (including Singapore) like Britain. The Technical Committee to-day exchanged views on the question of destroyers, and there was seemingly a considerable measure of agreement. Mr. Hugh Gibson and Admiral Jones (America) declared that the conversations on the major question were marked by the friendliest spirit. Admiral Jones explained that America’s present preponderance of destroyers was due to feverish wartime Building. He called attention to the conflicting figures of cruiser strengths, and gave as an instance that Vice-Admiral Sir Frederick Field stated last week that the Japanese proposal gave Britain 62, America 15 and Japan 29. This was based on Japan’s proposed age limit, but the disparity was less marked if it included the older ships. The experts were concerned, not with quantitive limitation, but with a common basis wherefrom to embark on limitation. Everybody is mystified as to the nature of the new Japanese instructions, but it is generally accepted that the question of capital ships will not arise till there is agreement as to the smaller types.—A. and N.Z.