Japan's Shadow Over The Pacific

Significance of Many Recent Events

JAPAN continues in an increasing degree to be the danger point of the Pacific, Events during the month only bear out warnings that have been published fre quently in this journal during the past few years—namely, that this proud and virile nation of 100,000,000 people, in creasing at the rate of 1,000,000 per annum, confined to a large crowded and not particularly fertile island cannot be expected to remain quiet.

Japan must have new territory, or perish. Her statesmen look, alternately, to the mainland of Asia (which, already, is densely populated and anti-Japanese in spirit) and to the large and unde

veloped territories of the Central and South Pacific (which are held strongly and jealously by European nations). It is inevitable in the very nature of things that Japan, sooner or later, will put her national future to the hazard of the sw'ord. The four European nations prim arily concerned with this position ■— Great Britain, the United States of America, France, and Holland —can only ■accept the plain facts and prepare ac cordingly.

During the month there have been big and little events of considerable signi ficance.

Another Japanese Government, unable to resist the pressure of the Army— which fiercely and aggressively demands an expansionist policy—has resigned, and the Elder Statesmen have decided upon a general election. The Army has in trigued for this general election for a long time. It hopes that the Parliament that will be elected will adopt a new outlook—that it will not be a Govern ment of compromise in international af fairs, but a Government which will say to the European powers in the Pacific: “Japan must have more room for her growing population and greater freedom for her steadily expanding trade, and Japan is prepared, if necessary, to fight for those things.” The result of the general election will be known early in May. Much depends upon it. jV/fEANWHILE, one finds on every side evidence of the ceaseless southwards thrust of Japan.

The anxiety with which Holland for many years has regarded Japanese pene tration of the East Indies has at last become vocal. Japan has sought various concessions in the East Indies, and es pecially territorial concessions in Dutch New Guinea; and unquestionably behind the request there is a threat of force.

Already, as has been pointed out in the (and especially in an article by a Dutch official in our issue of December, 1935), considerable concessions have been given to various Japanese concerns for the production of cotton, dammar resin, etc., on the north coast of Dutch New Guinea. Japan’s cheap manufactured

goods, for years past, have been Hooding through the Dutch East Indies. Fleets of Japanese vessels, loosely described as poachers, have been preying for years upon the shell deposits in Dutch terri torial waters, just as they have done in the South Pacific regions.

Mr. Sukurai, a minister in a former Japanese Government, made a speech in Tokyo on March 23 wherein he advocated that Japan should apply to Holland for a permanent lease of land in Dutch New Guinea on which to settle Japan’s sur plus population and produce raw materials.

The Tokyo newspaper Asahi reports that the Japanese South Seas Industry Co. has succeeded in overcoming the pink boll weevil and consequently obtained 1701 b. of cotton an acre on a 500-acre tract on the north coast of Dutch New Guinea. The company hopes to establish

a 60,000,000-acre cotton plantation in the same territory within three years.

There are large Japanese interests in .the Moluccas and the Celebes—both parts of the Netherlands Indies—and there are now no less than 20,000 Japanese settlers in the large, fertile island of Mindanao, which is the most southerly of the Phil

ippine Group.

The Dutch now clearly recognise the menace of Japan and, although not an excitable race, they recently have ex pressed their alarm. They have not hesi tated to say openly that the Netherlands Indies must be regarded as, in a sense, under the protection of Great Britain.

So far as British territories are con cerned, there have been no developments of note. There is significance, however, in the manner in which the Australian authorities finally surrendered to Japan ese insistence and allowed Japanese in terests to get possession of the huge deposits of iron ore at Yampi Sound, Western Australia.

JAPANESE interests are sternly explor ** ing the Pacific in search of iron ore.

A Japanese company, financed by the Oriental Development Co. and the No mura Security Co., has been formed to exploit iron ore deposits in New Cale donia, for which the French recently gave a concession. The company expects to obtain 300,000 tons of iron ore per annum from the New Caledonian deposit, which is estimated to contain 200,000,000 tons.

It is worthy of note that another Japanese company, the South Seas Ferro Mining Co., is now obtaining 100,000 tons

of iron ore per annum from a concession which it obtained in Malaya.

Another concern, the Kyowa Mining Co., has been formed with a capital of 5,000,000 yen, and a naval subsidy, to search for petroleum in the South Seas.

In our March issue we published an article describing the manner in which Japanese interests have virtually taken control of the pearl and trochus shell industries, which formerly were an Aus tralian monopoly.

It needs little intelligence to appreci ate the meaning of these things.

JAPAN is a very powerful nation. It is beyond any question or doubt that, if she dared, she would take possession of the Pacific territories which she needs.

But, at present, she is playing a lone hand. Facing her resolutely, and deter mined to maintain the status quo in the Pacific, are Great Britain, the United States, and Holland. It may be assumed that France, in view of the her Cochin China interests, stands with Britain in this matter —but the Pacific policy of France has not been clearly revealed.

The United States and Great Britain, so long as they keep together, can main tain the present position in the Pacific indefinitely. The association of the two great Anglo-Saxon powers is the only guarantee of our safety in the South Seas. It may be taken as certain that it will be the ceaseless purpose of Japanese diplomacy to separate Britain and America. If ever that happens, Japan will strike.

The developments that have taken place during the month, in the direction

of establishing an American airways ser vice between the United States and New Zealand, and the conciliatory note which is expected to dominate the discussion of Anglo-American Pacific affairs at the forthcoming Imperial Conference, also have an important bearing upon the Pacific situation.

There is plenty of evidence of a grow ing friendship and better understanding between Great Britain and U.S.A, Every one who tries to bring a clear vision and some intelligence to bear upon the future of the Pacific will hope that, within the next year or two, the British and Ameri can spheres of influence in the Pacific— especially in relation to commerce and transport—will be more clearly defined.

Political and international considerations make it imperative that there shall be an end to this long-continued shipping war between British and American inter ests, with its unnecessary and irritating political repercussions. R.W.R.

Hong Kong And Formosa

/MIEAT BRITAIN has announced that she intends to construct great forti fications at Hong Kong. This, of course, is an outcome of Japan’s refusal to renew the non-fortification clauses of the Wash ington Naval Pact (otherwise, the London Treaty).

The following message from Hong Kong was published in the Sydney Tele graph of March 26; — Survivors of the wrecked British steamer Hop Sang tell of a secret Japan ese air-base at the southern tip of the island of Formosa. They stumbled upon it when landing after the wreck.

When their ship crashed on to the rocks they lashed oars together to form a 20ft. bridge to land. Over this the Chinese boatswain crawled with a wire lashed to his waist. The wire made fast ashore, the other members of the crew made their way to safety.

At dawn they set out for the town of Koshun, only a few miles from the southernmost point of the island. Soon they found themselves in a great Japan ese military encampment and airbase.

They were questioned stringently and then permitted to continue to Koshun.

There they were impressed by the inten sive naval activity in the harbour.

Koshun lies more than 400 miles north east of Hong Kong, but is less than 200 miles from the coast of China.