PEACE OR WAR

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21583, 20 November 1941, Page 5

PEACE OR WAR

JAPANESE CHARGES AMAZEMENT IN AMERICA TENSION IN PACIFIC I (United rrr*s? Assn.— Eire. Tel. CopyrTpvn LONDON, Nov. 19 The charges made in the Japanese Diet against America have been received calmly although with some amazement in the United States. Mr Kurusu is described as an envoy carrying an olive branch lined with brickbats. The Japanese resolution is interpreted by one commentator as a demand for the United States to reI verse completely its own policy while leaving Japan to continue its policy. “If Mr Kurusu can turn that resolution into a peaceful statement,” says the commentator, “he is more than a statesman —he is a magician.” “If war in the Pacific is the price j of resisting Japanese rampage, then I war must come,” said Senator Pepper, I who is a member of the Senate | Foreign Relations Committee. “If the Japanese want peace let them stop their aggression now and get out of China.” Assistance to China The well-informed American journal Foreign Correspondence considers that the sending of a United States force to China would meet with little opposition at home. Three hundred American pilots are said to be training Chinese airmen in China, and 80 sailings of ships with supplies for China are scheduled between now and next May. The London Daily Telegraph states that the resolution of the Japanese Diet conveys the impression that Japan is not only ready for war with the United States but is determined to have it. The Daily Herald considers that the question of peace or war in the Pacific depends less on the talks going on in Washington than on the struggle going on in Tokio promoted by German fifth columnists. It says the crisis will go on until the battle in Tokio is decided.

NAVAL ALLIANCE BRITAIN AND AMERICA EFFECT IN PACIFIC AREA (United Press Assn. —Elec. Tel. Copyng-u. (Received Nov. 20, 11 a.m.) NEW YORK, Nov. 19 The New York Times correspondent, Mr Arthur Krosk, in a message from Washington, says two new factors reversed all the United States’ military plans in the Pacific, giving the Philippines an offensive instead of the long-accepted defensive role. One factor is the naval alliance with Britain, joining for all practical purposes the fleets of the two nations in the Pacific. The other is the coming-of-age of aircraft in battle. If American commanders in the Philippines decide to defend by attacking there are enough bombers and of sufficient strength to drop bombs on Japan, land in Siberia, refuel and again bomb, and repeat the enterprise on the return trip to Manila. This new establishment in the islands would release the United States Fleet in the Pacific for heavy operations in conjunction with the British Fleet. That would create a naval force outnumbering the Japanese and capable of making an attack of its own.

Before Mr Kurusu leaves Washington, adds Mr Krosk, he may have been officially acquainted with these new circumstances of war-making in the Pacific area, for official transmission to his Government. The information will probably have an important effect on the progress - of the American-Japanese discussions. There are supporting details equally reassuring to the United States which remain locked among the secrets of the War and Navy Departments.

THREAT TO THAILAND JAPANESE TROOPS MOVE FINAL STAGE OF TALKS (United Press Assn.—Eire. Tel. Copyrlg-Qt) LONDON, Nov. 19 The Japanese land and air forces massed in North Indo-China are reported to be moving south and west toward Thailand. Thailand, having created a supreme council for national defence, has appointed new heads of the fighting service. A meeting of the country’s defence chiefs was held yesterday. It is understood that Mr Kurusu and Admiral Nomura had long talks with Tokio after the discussions. Britain is being kept fully informed of the situation. The British Minister, Sir Ronald Campbell, visited Mr Hull yesterday after the talks.

The Japanese newspaper Kokumin emphasises that the negotiations have reached their final

stage and that Mr Kurusu will decide the question of peace once and for all.