US Presidency
1942

And thousands of American troops are today in that area engaged in operations not only in the air but on the ground as well. In this battle area, Japan has had an obvious initial advantage. For she could fly even her short-range planes to the points of attack by using many stepping stones open to â€“ her bases in a multitude of Pacific islands and also bases on the China coast, Indo-China coast, and in Thailand and Malaya ( coasts ). Japanese troop transports could go south from Japan and from China through the narrow China Sea, which can be protected by Japanese planes throughout its whole length. I ask you to look at your maps again, particularly at that portion of the Pacific Ocean lying west of Hawaii. Before this war even started, the Philippine Islands were already surrounded on three sides by Japanese power. On the west, the China side, the Japanese were in possession of the coast of China and the coast of Indo-China which had been yielded to them by the Vichy French.