Route

Indian Ocean Air Route May Be Alternative to Crossing India

THE main airways which connect Europe with the South Pacific come across Asia Minor into India: thence through the Netherlands Indies into Norts-west Australia.

An unfriendly India can interrupt those services at any time. There is a lesson for us in the fact that, in December, India would not let the Netherlands-Java airline across India —this being retaliation for the strong Dutch action against the “Indonesian republic,”

That will explain the sudden, renewed interest in a new route from Australia to Europe, via the Indian Ocean and East and North Africa. It has been proved that large planes can fly comfortably from North-west Australia to Cocos Keeling atoll, 1,600 miles; thence to the Chagos Islands (Diego Garcia), 1,600 miles; thence to Seychelles Islands, 1,200 miles; thence to Kenya, 1,000 miles. Thence up through Africa to Europe.

By using such a route, the air transport companies could by-pass all Southern Asia, if desired. The route at nresent lacks ground' organisation; but it is no. more difficult than the now regularly used trajis-Pacific route, from Australia to North America.

Another possible route would go directly west from North-west Australia to Rodri guez, Mauritius, Madagascar and East Africa.

The first-named route (which was ex plored by Captain P. G. Taylor a ‘couple of years ago) would be all-British, except that Cocos Keeling atoll is the absolute possession of the Clunies Ross family.

There may be significance in the fact that Clunies Ross V has been recently engaged the conferences with the British Colonial Office people in Singapore.