AUSTRALIAN MINISTER WARNS JAPAN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 August 1941, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN MINISTER WARNS JAPAN

Determination to Defend Vital Interests JAPANESE OCCUPATION OF INDO-CHINA COMPLETED REINFORCEMENTS SENT TO MANCHUKUO LONDON, August 4. Mr P. C. Spender, Australian Minister of the Army, gave a blunt warning to Japan when he said Australia was determined to defend her interests in the Far East. She was not prepared to surrender, at the point of the gun, vital interests and responsibilities, which it was her duty to guard, Australians looked with misgivings on the arrival of Japanese forces in Indo-China and indications were not lacking that the Japanese had intentions of going still further. Britain, Mr Spender said, had no designs on Indo-Ohina and a similar declaration by Japan would be welcomed. Reports from the Far East show that the foreign settlement in Canton is being blockaded by the Japanese as a retaliation for Britain’s action in freezing Japanese assets. Large Japanese reinforcements are being sent to Manchukuo direct from Japan. There is no confirmation of reports that clashes have taken place in Mongolia between Japanese and Russian forces. The movement of Japanese troops into Indo-China has been completed. Heavy Japanese pressure is reported on Thailand for the extraction of economic concessions.