UNEASY JAPAN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 24 February 1941, Page 5

UNEASY JAPAN

CHARGES BY FOREIGN MINISTER

AGAINST THE UNITED STATES & BRITAIN. MEDIATION IN THAILAND. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright NEW YORK. February 22. The American Ambassador in Tokio. Mr Grew, conferred with tin* Japanese Foreign Minister. .Mr. Matsuoka. regarding the turbulent Far East situation. Officials have refused to discuss the talk, but it is believed i* included -Japanese charges tir-'t the United States and Britain are disturbing the bar East by their defence preparations and also increasingly open warnings that Japan might take eon nter-m easu res.

Increasingly concerned over the moves by the United States and Britain. the Foreign Office has started to intensify efforts to arrange a quick and binding peace between Indo-China and Thailand, believing that a solution of their dispute will help Japanese diplomacy aside from stabilising the situation in both countries.

The Vichy correspondent of the American United Press says that France has rejected a Japanese compromise settlement of the conflict with Thailand.

The Thailand Government issued a communique in Bangkok denying that the Tokio peace conference has reached a deadlock. The communique said: “We hope the mediation will soon come to a peaceful solution, showing that our groat friend Japan has maintained justice in the best possible way.”

Japanese newspapers in Shanghai report that the Chungking Government has obtained British approval in principle of a joint Chinese-British defence plan extending from south-west-ern China to India.