THE Americans,

Australia’s Nightmare Jap Colonists in New Guinea

Residents of the south Pacific Islands, especially those who ex perienced the horrors of the invasion in New Guinea, Solomons and Gilberts, will not like some angles of the Peace Treaty talks now going on between the United States and Japan.

It is felt that the time has come to officially end the war with Japan. The completion of a Peace Treaty has been cunningly prevented for years by Russia, as part of her plan of obstructing and em barrassing the Western Powers. Now, however, the Treaty will be completed, whether Russia likes it or not. America proposes that a re-armed Japan shall be the first line of her Pacific defence against Red Asia.

Naturally, Japan is agreeable; but her politicians are preparing to make the shrewdest possible bargain. In return for co-operation with United States against Red Asia, the Japs want — • The return to them of the small groups of islands immediately south wards of Japan—especially the Ryuku and Bonin archipelagoes—and the Kurile chain, to the northward. • Permission to transfer a large number of Japanese (some reports say 5 millions) from the home islands to New Guinea, for permanent settle ment.

The Americans seem inclined to look with favour upon both demands. The small groups of small islands referred to really belong to Japan, and there will be no objection to their return. But the nations interested in the South Pacific — especially Australia —are unwilling even to consider any plans for Japanese migra tion into Melanesia.

New Guinea, next to Greenland, is the world’s biggest is land. New Guinea is capable of great commercial exploita tion and develop ment. New Guinea could carry ten or twenty times its pre sent population of U million —and it is unlikely that the natives will multiply quickly. Japanese would be the ideal colonists for this huge tropical island —industrious, inge nious, enterprising.

But how can Aus tralia, already fear ful of Asia’s thou sand million hungry people, tolerate the thought of introduc ing millions of Asia’s most aggressive race into the island that, hitherto, has been regarded as Austra lia's natural barrier against Asia? Aus tralia has been very “jittery” lately be cause there is a pos sibility of Javanese settling in Western New Guinea, just ac ross Torres Strait.

Indonesians would be far less a formidable foe than Japanese.

THE Americans,

thinking only of their plan of building up Japan as THEIR barrier against Asia, will try

to persuade the Australians that the Jap anese now are reformed —that they may be accepted in New Guinea as trustworthy neighbours.

No Australian who saw the Japanese, between 1920 and 1940, spying out every island and reef in the South Pacific, or who remembers the horrors inflicted by these sub-human beasts upon our soldiers and civilians in Burma and Ambon, Tol and Tarawa, or who has read the evidence being slowly accumulated at this moment in the war criminal trials at Manus, will ever accept the Japanese as trustworthy allies or desirable neighbours. . . .

This may become a lively and very em barrassing issue. The Japanese archi pelago already is woefully overcrowded, and the people, with typical Asiatic fe cundity. are increasing at the rate of probably 2 millions per annum. Japan’s number-one problem is how to make proper provision for the feeding of her 90 million population. There must either be enormous oversea trading and impor tation of foodstuffs and raw materials (as before World War II); or emigration.

Maybe, if the Muscovite did not threaten to destroy Western civilisation, and Japan were not needed to take a place in our defences, Japan would be left to solve her own problems in her own way. She forfeited all claim to our help and con sideration in ‘‘that moment of infamy” when, in the dawn of December 7, 1941, she struck at Pearl Harbour. Unhappily for all of us, she cannot be left alone, or kept unarmed.

But even the logic of the Cold War cannot induce Australians to look with tolerance upon the proposal that Aus tralia shall have Japanese neighbours in

New Guinea. So, what?-

R.W.R.