NAVAL TREATY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 29 April 1939, Page 8

NAVAL TREATY

BRITISH CONTENTIONS NO PROVISION MADE FOR DENUNCIATION. AGREEMENT TO CONFER IGNORED. (Received This Day, 10,45 a.m.) RUGBY, April 28. Herr Kordt. called at the Foreign Office to deliver the Note referred to by Herr Hitler in his speech regarding the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935. The agreement stabilised the Bri-tish-German naval ratio at. 100 to 35 in all individual classes and in total tonnage. Submarines were an exception, and in this class parity was accorded. The Note of denunciation is understood to claim that Britain unilaterally deprived the agreement of its basis by means of an alleged encirclements policy. Informed quarters in London point out that the agreement was expressly stated to be permanent and contains no clause for denunciation and that the only general reservation made bj' Germany was the right to examine the. matter in conjunction with Britain if general naval equilibrium should be violently upset by abnormal construction on the part of other Powers. The view is expressed that the least Germany might have done was to offer to discuss the matter before, rather than after proceeding to denunciation, a course which is in itself illicit.

With regard to the Naval Agreement of 1937, dealing with the advance exchange of information on building programmes and qualitative armaments, Germany notes the treaty dealing with the exchange of information, but declares Germany's intention of abiding by the qualitative restrictions.