VERY HEAVY FIGHTING

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 December 1941, Page 5

VERY HEAVY FIGHTING

IN PROGRESS IN MALAYAN JUNGLES Chinese Attacks on Enemy Communications DEFENCE OF VITAL BASES IN PACIFIC IMPORTANCE OF SINGAPORE AND PEARL HARBOUR LONDON, December 16. The latest reports from the Pacific war zone show that m Malaya the Japanese seem to be developing a large-scale ° ffei At V Hong Kong; the evacuation of Kowloon has been In the Philippines there is no change in the situation. It seems clear that the capture of the Burmese airport at Victoria Point and of the aerodrome at Kota Baru, in northern Malaya, have helped the Japanese to develop their offensive on a large scale. Fighting is very heavy, but detail news is scanty owing to the nature of the country making it difficult for our troops to keep in close touch. Much of the fighting is in dense jungle. , .. , The Japanese main thrust is southwards from Thailand. There is no confirmation of a report that Thai troops are fighting British troops. _ . . , There is no truth whatever in a Japanese report that British troops from Burma are in action across the border in Northern . Thailand. During the past week all the news from Thailand has come from Japanese sources. . ' The Singapore Council is considering a Bill empowering the conscription of all men and women for the defence of the colony. Tokio reports a fierce air raid on Rangoon. HONG KONG FACES SIEGE The completion of the evacuation of Kowloon means that all our forces on the mainland have been withdrawn into the island fortress of Hong Kong, which faces a siege by land, sea and air. The Chinese have intensified their attacks on enemy communications along the Kowloon-Canton railway. The Chinese Minister of the Interior today, declared that in the Pacific the first two months of war would be the most critical, while the Japanese were trying to seize British and American bases. A spokesman in Chungking said that General Chiang Kaishek had again proposed an alliance of all the nations fighting the Axis. The spokesman paid a tribute to the magnificent part being played by the Netherlands East Indies. JAPANESE PLANES SHOT DOWN A United States War Department communique reports some enemy air activity over the Philippines. Four Japanese fighting planes were shot down. American bombers again attacked enemy vessels off Legaski, seriously damaging one enemy transport. No ground operations are reported and from other areas no change in the situation is reported. Discussing the relative value of Singapore and the Philippines, the “Washington Post” says that serious as the loss of the Philippines would be, it would be as nothing compared with the loss of Singapore. Singapore and Pearl Harbour are the two most important bases to be defended in the Pacific. All male citizens in Hawaii have been ordered to construct shelters for their families with their own tools and materials. The beach resorts have been closed and travel restricted. * There is no confirmation of a report by the Japanese that they made a landing in British North Borneo at dawn today. Previous reports to a similar effect have been denied. All women and children are to be evacuated from Port Darwin, except women required for essential services.