Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1943. PACIFIC WAR DEMANDS.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 March 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1943. PACIFIC WAR DEMANDS.

Chiang’ Kai-shek is an able and very gallant lady —someone has called her the greatest .woman in the world today—but time and events may be expected to show that she has been seriously unjust to the British Prime Minister (Mr Churchill) in the rebuke she addressed to him at Chicago. Iler reported observations imply that in her opinion China, tor the time at least, is being neglected unjustly by her Allies. People in this country and in Australia will sympathise in full measure with China’s desire lor united action on a maximum scale against Japan at the earliest possible moment. It is appreciated widely in these Dominions, too, that China, after fighting' for nearly twice as long as her Allies in something less than a half-armed condition, is undergoing a frightful ordeal and one she cannot be expected to endure indefinitely. In addition, it cannot but be admitted that unless China is given adequate co-operation and support by her Allies before it is too late,, the task of extirpating Japanese militarism will be lengthened and made immensely more' difficult. All this being said, however, Mr Churchill is not obviously open to criticism, much less to condemnation, for anything he had to say about the necessity of destroying the Nazi power before taking finally decisive action against Japan. Suggestive new light was thrown on. the whole position in the Pacific . in a cablegram from New York yesterday which dealt with the present mission to the United States of General Kenney, the American commander of the Allied air forces in the SouthWestern Pacific, and his colleague, General Sutherland. These officers, according to the cablegram, contend that the Allied movement against the Japanese from Australia has gone as far as it can profitably be pressed and that the' war against the Japanese must be fought, first by increased air and naval attacks on enemy shipping, and second by retaking Burma and reestablishing communication with China. To this, it was added, the British answer is that the recapture of Burma requires a major Allied fleet as well as increased supplies for the Far East and that therefore the key to the war against the Japanese is complete repossession of the Mediterranean in order to re-establish a short shipping route to the Far East. These contentions obviously are of great weight, though they perhaps should not be regarded as determining in all respects the measure of naval, air and other force that can meantime be made available against Japan. The worst weakness of the existing situation admittedly is the isolation of China —an isolation modified only by a limited transmission of supplies by air -and through Russia. It is not easy to see, however, how that weakness can be overcome effectively until the Allies have established a complete command of the Mediterranean —an achievement towards which progress is being made at the moment in the battles that are being fought in Tunisia. So far as Britain is concerned, this involves a more or less serious postponement of action and of the allocation of forces to the Pacific, It should be noted, however, that the New York cablegram reporting the observations of Madame Chiang Kaishek gave a somewhat distorted version of what was said by Mr Churchill on this subject. The cablegram spoke of “Mr Churchill’s statement that the full weight of the Allies would not be thrown against the Japanese until Germany was beaten, and that partial demobilisation would follow Hitler’s defeat.” The British Prime Minister presumably was speaking for his own country rather than for the Allies. At all. events, he does not control the disposal of American forces and: even as regards those of the Empire it was reported yesterday that the last Australian division had been withdrawn from the Middle East and was now available for service in the Pacific. New Zealand, also, is committed to maintaining in the Pacific a force which may compare in strength with its Division now forming part of the Eighth Army. Mr Churchill’s statement about partial demobilisation had reference to his view that, with Germany beaten, “there would be large numbers of British and no doubt American soldiers whom it would not be physically possible to employ across the vast distances and poor communications of the Japanese war.” In spite of the'prior claims of Europe and those of the war at sea, the Allies are doing much more than fight a mere holding campaign in the Pacific. They are conducting a vigorous offensive-defensive and the extent to which this can be intensified in the immediate future is perhaps'still an open question.